Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 17,565 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel sold 17,565 shares of Novartis, trimming its position by 13.1% to 116,412 shares worth $16.05 million, which represents about 2.3% of its portfolio and its 15th-largest holding.
• Quarterly results and analyst views: Novartis reported EPS of $1.99 (below the $2.11 estimate) on $13.52 billion of revenue (slightly above expectations but down 0.9% year-over-year), and analysts remain split with a consensus "Hold" and $141.20 target while Morgan Stanley and Argus recently raised targets/ratings to $170 and $180 respectively.
• Dividend and key metrics: Novartis paid an annual dividend of $4.773 per share (record Mar 11, paid Mar 16), with a payout ratio of about 44.13%, and the company has a market cap near $279.9 billion and a P/E of ~21.0.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,412 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,565 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 2.3% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank increased its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank lowered Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $146.67 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $104.93 and a one year high of $170.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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