CWA Asset Management Group LLC Increases Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 151.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,213 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,409 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,376,000 after purchasing an additional 117,952 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.4% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,427,000 after purchasing an additional 78,483 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,658,000 after buying an additional 78,390 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Novartis by 7.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,371,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,107,000 after buying an additional 168,573 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,819,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,302,000 after buying an additional 82,369 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novartis agreed to acquire SNV4818, a pan‑mutant‑selective PI3Kα inhibitor, for $2 billion upfront and up to $1 billion in milestones — a deal that expands its HR+/HER2‑ breast cancer and precision‑oncology pipeline and adds a potential high‑value oncology asset. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains constructive overall: analyst consensus is a “Moderate Buy,” which supports investor confidence in the shares despite short‑term volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein moved its rating to “hold” — a modest, neutral signal that suggests some analysts see less upside near term even as pipeline moves are positive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. FDA flagged a potential seizure risk for certain Parkinson’s drugs and asked manufacturers to update labels — an industry‑wide safety alert that can increase regulatory scrutiny and short‑term selling pressure on pharma stocks; the direct impact on Novartis depends on its Parkinson’s portfolio exposure. Read More.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $145.92 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The firm has a market cap of $308.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.33 and a 200 day moving average of $139.16. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NVS shares. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.80.

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.