Victory Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 96,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,365,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $222.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.84.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Company Profile

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.