Citigroup Inc. Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,287 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,266 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $29,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 489.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 564,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,369,000 after buying an additional 469,080 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 5.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,762,000 after acquiring an additional 358,282 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Novartis by 52.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 876,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,120,000 after acquiring an additional 303,553 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $32,297,000. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,813,000 after purchasing an additional 265,861 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $166.95 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $97.71 and a 12-month high of $168.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $352.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $148.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.15.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

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.