Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.80.

NVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 425.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $145.92 on Friday. Novartis has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.49. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.07.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

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.