Calydon Capital Sells 5,908 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Calydon Capital lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 48.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,908 shares during the quarter. Calydon Capital’s holdings in Novartis were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank raised 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 during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its stake in 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, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1,804.2% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $153.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $324.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.36 and a 200 day moving average of $138.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month high of $170.46.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $4.773 dividend. This represents a yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.80.

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.