Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 274,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Novartis were worth $35,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its position in Novartis by 28.0% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 1,804.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $166.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.