12,349 Shares in Novartis AG $NVS Acquired by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,584,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Novartis by 15.6% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,926,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,001,000 after buying an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after buying an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 439,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,411,000 after acquiring an additional 23,978 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,305,000 after acquiring an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE NVS opened at $167.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.92. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $167.86. The company has a market capitalization of $352.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

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.