SageView Advisory Group LLC Purchases Shares of 24,463 Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• SageView Advisory Group acquired a new position of 24,463 Novartis shares in the third quarter, valued at about $3.14 million.
• Novartis announced an annual dividend of $4.773 per share, payable March 16 with record/ex-dividend date on March 11.
• The company modestly beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.03 vs. $1.99; revenue $13.86B) but the analyst consensus remains a "Hold" with an average price target of $119.75 versus the current stock price near $161.64.

SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,137,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its position in Novartis by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1,804.2% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 457 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7%

NVS stock opened at $161.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $341.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $153.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.80. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a yield of 295.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.75.

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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