Novartis AG $NVS Shares Purchased by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Novartis by 6.6% in Q4, buying 54,682 shares to hold 887,296 shares valued at about $122.33 million.
• Novartis reported quarterly EPS of $1.99 (missing the $2.11 consensus) while revenue came in at $13.52 billion (slightly above the $13.44 billion estimate), with revenue down 0.9% year‑over‑year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—seven Buy, seven Hold and two Sell—yielding a consensus rating of Hold and a $141.20 average price target, though Morgan Stanley and Argus recently raised their targets to $170 and $180 respectively.

Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 887,296 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,682 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $122,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,362,000 after buying an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company's stock worth $134,035,000 after acquiring an additional 480,201 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company's stock worth $38,656,000 after acquiring an additional 292,595 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 78.0% in the third quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,813,000 after acquiring an additional 265,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Argus raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE NVS opened at $144.57 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $104.93 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The company has a market capitalization of $275.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $154.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.9 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $4.773 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 44.13%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.