CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 503,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,563,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,362,000 after acquiring an additional 720,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,035,000 after purchasing an additional 480,201 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,762,000 after purchasing an additional 358,282 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 876,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,120,000 after purchasing an additional 303,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,656,000 after purchasing an additional 292,595 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $154.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.95 and a 200-day moving average of $138.79. The company has a market cap of $327.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.49. 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 AG has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 43.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.