BXM Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

BXM Wealth LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 726.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,817 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,639 shares during the quarter. BXM Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its position in Novartis by 47.4% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $153.91 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.99. The company has a market cap of $325.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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 $13.86 billion 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. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

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.