Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its Novartis stake by 4.2% in Q3, selling 180,107 shares and now holds 4,059,319 shares (~0.19%) valued at about $520.6 million.
• Analysts show a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $131.80 while NVS opened at $155.80, and several firms (Bank of America, Argus) have recently upgraded the stock amid mixed opinions.
• Novartis declared an annual dividend of $4.773 per share payable March 16 (record/ex-dividend date March 11), with a payout ratio of 36.31%.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,059,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,107 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.19% of Novartis worth $520,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,376,000 after buying an additional 117,952 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Novartis by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company's stock worth $675,427,000 after buying an additional 78,483 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,819,260 shares of the company's stock worth $233,302,000 after acquiring an additional 82,369 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,597,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,035,000 after acquiring an additional 480,201 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.80.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $155.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.92. The company has a market capitalization of $329.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. Novartis's payout ratio is 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.

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.