Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 14,352 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. increased its stake in Novartis by 14.4%, buying 14,352 shares to hold 113,737 shares valued at $15.681 million at the end of the quarter.
• Analysts’ consensus rating on Novartis is a Hold with a consensus price target of $141.20, following a mix of upgrades and downgrades (1 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 7 Hold, 2 Sell).
• Novartis slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.03 vs. $1.99) and recently paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share, with shares trading around $149.77 and a market cap near $286 billion.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,737 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,352 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Novartis were worth $15,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $149.77 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $104.93 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.62. 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 cap of $285.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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