Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, a drop of 20.2% from the February 28th total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Novartis by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 1.8 %

Novartis stock traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,954,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,772. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.10.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.