Todd Asset Management LLC Purchases 23,978 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 439,879 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,978 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for approximately 1.1% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $56,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 489.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 564,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,369,000 after purchasing an additional 469,080 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,762,000 after purchasing an additional 358,282 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,297,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 244,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $163.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $344.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.51. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $97.71 and a fifty-two week high of $163.42.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $524.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

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.