Novartis AG $NVS Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 537,543 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $68,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 489.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 564,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,369,000 after purchasing an additional 469,080 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,762,000 after buying an additional 358,282 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Novartis by 52.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 876,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,120,000 after buying an additional 303,553 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $32,297,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 63.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 631,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,374,000 after acquiring an additional 244,037 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Cfra set a $126.00 price target on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Up 1.5%

NVS stock opened at $167.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.92. The company has a market capitalization of $352.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.50. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $167.86. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

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.