Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Acquires 32,620 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Triasima Portfolio Management increased its stake in Novartis by 185.8% in Q4, purchasing 32,620 shares to hold 50,175 shares valued at $6.918 million.
• Novartis reported quarterly EPS of $1.99, missing the $2.11 consensus, with revenue of $13.52 billion (vs. $13.44B est.) and a net margin of 24.87%, while EPS fell from $2.28 year‑over‑year.
• The stock carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $141.20, and the company recently paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share (payout ratio 44.13%).

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 185.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,175 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,620 shares during the quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Novartis by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company's stock worth $10,926,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 439,879 shares of the company's stock worth $56,411,000 after acquiring an additional 23,978 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company's stock worth $17,001,000 after acquiring an additional 6,924 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company's stock worth $928,376,000 after acquiring an additional 117,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company's stock worth $8,305,000 after acquiring an additional 14,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $146.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $104.93 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.98. The firm has a market cap of $279.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 44.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novartis to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.20.

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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