5,922 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Acquired by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVS. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,556,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,587,000 after acquiring an additional 240,710 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 4,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 95,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $94.40 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.18. The company has a market capitalization of $200.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.