Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,115 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6%

NVS stock opened at $165.17 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 capitalization of $348.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. DZ Bank cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.