Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 21,663 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 331,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,663 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $42,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Novartis by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,926,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 439,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,411,000 after buying an additional 23,978 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,376,000 after buying an additional 117,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 27.7% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,305,000 after buying an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $160.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $338.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.49. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.23. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 36.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

About Novartis

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.