Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its Novartis stake by 5.6% in Q3 to 121,739 shares (an extra 6,440 shares), valuing its holding at about $15.61 million.
• Wall Street's consensus is an average rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $119.75 (based on 2 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 6 Hold and 2 Sell ratings), versus a recent share price near $160.
• Novartis beat Q results (EPS $2.03 vs. $1.99 estimate) on $13.86B revenue and announced an annual dividend of $4.773 per share payable March 16 (record March 11), with a payout ratio of 36.31%.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,739 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,440 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $15,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marietta Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Novartis by 3.8% in the third quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 17,749 shares of the company's stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. now owns 171,683 shares of the company's stock worth $22,017,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares in the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 42,790 shares of the company's stock worth $5,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the company's stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $160.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $4.773 dividend. This represents a yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

About Novartis

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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