Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,913 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,395 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 2.9 %

Novartis stock opened at $112.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.65 and its 200-day moving average is $107.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $229.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company 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.