Novartis AG $NVS Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,784 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,967 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $27,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Novartis by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 20,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $166.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $97.71 and a twelve month high of $167.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $144.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.22. The stock has a market cap of $350.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $524.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $4.773 dividend. This represents a yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. HC Wainwright cut Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.