NewEdge Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 486,464 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,548 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises about 0.9% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $61,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in Novartis by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its position in Novartis by 2.3% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright downgraded Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $165.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $349.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.45. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $167.86.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Novartis Company 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.