Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $157.57 and last traded at $156.94, with a volume of 2430294 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cfra set a $126.00 target price on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Up 0.3%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.28. 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 cap of $331.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $524.00 million during 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in Novartis by 15.6% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,926,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 13.2% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,305,000 after purchasing an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,491,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.