Evergreen Capital Management LLC Has $6.51 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 68.2% in Q4 to 47,245 shares, valued at about $6.514 million at quarter-end.
• Wall Street consensus rates Novartis as a Hold with an average price target of $141.20 (distribution: 1 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 7 Hold, 2 Sell).
• Novartis beat Q results with EPS of $2.03 vs. $1.99 expected and paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share (paid March 16; payout ratio 43.02%).

Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,245 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,155 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $6,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank raised its stake in Novartis by 47.4% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NVS shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:NVS opened at $147.99 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $104.93 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.24.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is 43.02%.

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.

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