Auto Owners Insurance Co Sells 11,573 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Auto Owners Insurance Co lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 25.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,573 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 11,444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $154.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.95 and its 200 day moving average is $138.79. The stock has a market cap of $327.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $97.71 and a 12-month high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.80.

Novartis 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.