abrdn plc Makes New $3.84 Million Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 38,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,844,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Novartis by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in Novartis by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $97.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.