Banco Santander S.A. Lowers Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 51.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,075 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Country Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 47.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given 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 “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:NVS opened at $168.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $356.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.71.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

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.