Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,982 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,957 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,762,000 after buying an additional 358,282 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,427,000 after acquiring an additional 78,483 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,819,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,302,000 after acquiring an additional 82,369 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,597,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 927,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,214,000 after acquiring an additional 30,950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Cfra set a $126.00 price target on shares of Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Key Headlines Impacting Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: President Trump said he met Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan and highlighted the company is building 11 U.S. manufacturing plants — a signal of stronger U.S. production footprint, potential government support and on‑shoring that can reduce supply risk and support future sales. Trump meets Novartis CEO, says drugmaker building 11 US plants
• Positive Sentiment: Novartis is making a major R&D/portfolio bet — a $1.8 billion investment in oral peptide programs — which could expand its pipeline into high‑value modalities if clinical progress continues. This is growth‑oriented spending that investors may view positively for long‑term upside. Novartis Makes $1.8 Billion Bet On Oral Peptides
• Neutral Sentiment: Novartis agreed to sell its ~70.7% holding in its listed Indian unit to a consortium (WaveRise, ChrysCapital, Two Infinity) for about $159M — a sizeable strategic divestment geographically but small relative to Novartis’ market cap; it reduces direct India exposure and will free up capital, though near‑term earnings impact is modest. Novartis to sell entire 71% stake in Indian unit to consortium of WaveRise Investments
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst revisions from Zacks are mixed but tilted downward overall: Zacks issued multiple cuts to quarterly and FY2026/2027 EPS estimates (several Q2/Q3 and FY reductions), which can pressure sentiment and imply lower near‑term earnings growth expectations. These downgrades are likely the primary short‑term negative driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary pieces (e.g., Yahoo Finance stock look) provide broader context but contain no single catalyst; useful for long‑term perspective but not a direct price driver today. Where is Novartis AG (NVS) Headed?

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $162.76 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.23. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $167.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 36.31%.

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.