Novartis AG $NVS Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Novartis by 5.1% in Q4, buying 13,012 shares to hold 267,269 shares worth about $36.85 million as of the latest 13F filing.
• Novartis reported quarterly EPS of $1.99, missing estimates by $0.12 while revenue came in at $13.52 billion (slightly above consensus), and analysts’ consensus rating is a Hold with a $141.20 target (Morgan Stanley’s target is $170 with an overweight rating).

US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267,269 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,012 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Novartis were worth $36,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 77.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company's stock worth $211,362,000 after purchasing an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 85.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company's stock worth $134,035,000 after purchasing an additional 480,201 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company's stock worth $38,656,000 after purchasing an additional 292,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 78.0% during the third quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company's stock worth $77,813,000 after purchasing an additional 265,861 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 3.5%

NVS opened at $148.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $104.93 and a 12-month high of $170.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $154.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. DZ Bank cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

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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