DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 4,672 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,672 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Novartis by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Key Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novartis agreed to acquire Excellergy for up to $2.0 billion to add Exl‑111, a half‑life extended anti‑IgE candidate in Phase 1 that Novartis says could deliver faster, deeper IgE pathway suppression and broaden its allergy portfolio — transaction expected to close in H2 2026. This boosts mid‑stage immunology pipeline and reinforces allergy strategy. Excellergy acquisition Novartis agrees to acquire Excellergy
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on NVS to $170 and moved to “overweight,” signaling a meaningful upside vs. the stock’s recent levels and lending near‑term buyside momentum. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America (via TipRanks summary) reiterated a Buy on Novartis, citing late‑stage pipeline and upside from pelacarsen as support despite patent headwinds — another vote of confidence for the company’s longer‑term growth prospects. TipRanks: BofA Buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research issued mixed estimate changes: a small raise to Q3 2026 EPS but cuts to Q1 and some full‑year/longer‑term projections (minor adjustments overall). These tweaks slightly alter near‑term expectations but don’t materially change Novartis’ longer‑term consensus EPS (~$8.45). MarketBeat / Zacks estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive M&A headline: coverage noting Sarepta’s counter‑move in a separate muscular dystrophy deal (reported surge in Sarepta shares) suggests a contested M&A environment for related assets — this could increase deal costs or complicate Novartis’ other takeover efforts (reported in the press on 3/25). Investors view contested bids as a potential negative for deal economics and near‑term cash outflows. MSN: Sarepta / muscular dystrophy deal

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $149.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $316.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.65.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

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.