QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management raised its Novartis stake by 6.0% in Q4, adding 7,579 shares to hold 133,113 shares worth about $18.35 million after the filing.
• On April 28 Novartis reported EPS of $1.99, missing estimates of $2.11 while revenue of $13.52 billion slightly beat expectations; revenue was down 0.9% year‑over‑year and analysts forecast ~8.9 EPS for the year.
• Novartis paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share (record Mar 11, paid Mar 16) with a payout ratio of 44.13%, and the stock carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $141.20 target price.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,113 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,579 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $18,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank increased its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $144.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm's 50-day moving average is $154.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.98. 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 PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis's payout ratio is 44.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novartis to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. DZ Bank cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis 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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