Atria Investments Inc Buys 5,179 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position in Novartis by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,926,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Novartis by 13.2% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,975,000 after buying an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $1,491,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2%

NVS opened at $163.09 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $97.71 and a twelve month high of $163.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $143.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.30. The company has a market cap of $344.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $524.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis 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.