Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley downgraded Novartis from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered Novartis from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Novartis from CHF 82 to CHF 84 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $82.63.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $82.19 on Thursday. Novartis has a 12 month low of $74.09 and a 12 month high of $94.26. The company has a market cap of $181.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.75.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $3.4694 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $1.18. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 71.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 8.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Company Profile

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Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.