Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Reduces Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Mirae Asset reduced its stake in Novartis by 14.2% in Q4, selling 56,622 shares and ending the period with 342,536 shares worth about $47.23 million.
• Novartis beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.03 vs. $1.99) on $13.86 billion in revenue, posting a 25.65% net margin and 40.53% ROE, with shares trading up roughly 1.5%.
• Novartis paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share (record March 11, paid March 16), and analysts' consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $141.20.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,536 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,622 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $47,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,376,000 after purchasing an additional 117,952 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,390 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,371,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,107,000 after purchasing an additional 168,573 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,819,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,302,000 after purchasing an additional 82,369 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 77.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,362,000 after purchasing an additional 720,860 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $152.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $290.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $157.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.81. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $104.93 and a 1-year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during 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%. Novartis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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 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 (DPR) is 43.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novartis to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.20.

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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