Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 35,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novartis reported positive topline Phase III results for oral remibrutinib in chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU), meeting primary endpoints across the most common CIndU types — a potential first targeted therapy for an underserved condition that could become a new product revenue stream. Novartis remibrutinib Phase III results
• Positive Sentiment: Novartis struck licensing/collaboration deals to expand its oral peptide/macrocyclic peptide programs — reports cite agreements worth up to ~$1.7–1.8 billion in milestones. These add to the company’s pipeline optionality in cardiovascular and orally delivered peptide therapeutics, supporting longer‑term growth potential. Unnatural Products licensing deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and outlook pieces are circulating that reassess Novartis’ trajectory and valuation; these provide context but are not single‑handedly catalytic. Where is Novartis headed?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued mixed model updates: they raised some later‑period estimates (e.g., Q4 2026/ Q4 2027 and FY2028 projections) reflecting longer‑term strength, signaling upside in later years if pipeline launches succeed. (No direct article link provided here.)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also trimmed near‑term forecasts — lowering FY2026 and FY2027 estimates and cutting Q1 and Q2 2026 EPS projections — a negative for short‑term sentiment as lower near‑term earnings expectations can weigh on the stock. (Updates originate from Zacks research notes issued Feb. 18.)

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $163.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $346.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.66. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $97.71 and a twelve month high of $167.86.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.