Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16, Zacks reports. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $113.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $109.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Novartis stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 76.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,153 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.