Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Upgraded by Argus to “Buy” Rating

Argus upgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Argus currently has $180.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NVS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.80.

Novartis Trading Down 3.6%

Novartis stock opened at $155.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.74 and a 200 day moving average of $137.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis has a 12-month low of $97.71 and a 12-month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $4.773 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 36.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Novartis by 48.0% in the second 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 Novartis in the second quarter worth $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.