Novartis AG $NVS Stock Position Lowered by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,740 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in Novartis by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its stake in Novartis by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $159.93 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $142.32 and its 200-day moving average is $131.77. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month high of $160.18. The firm has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $524.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.