Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 4.5% in Q3, buying 39,020 shares to hold 900,018 shares valued at about $115.42 million.
• The consensus analyst rating is Hold with a consensus target price of $119.75, amid mixed recent actions including upgrades from Bank of America and downgrades from Wall Street Zen.
• Novartis beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.03 vs. $1.99) and announced an annual dividend of $4.773 per share, payable March 16 with an ex-dividend date of March 11.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 900,018 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,020 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $115,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Country Trust Bank grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Novartis by 28.0% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1,804.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 457 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5%

NVS opened at $160.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $338.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46. The business's fifty day moving average is $152.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.30.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 312.0%. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

Novartis Company 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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