Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 220,209 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,840,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 220,209 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,133,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $31,000. Country Trust Bank grew its stake in Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Novartis by 28.0% in the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $57,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NVS shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $164.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.52. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $346.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.31%.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.