Cullen Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,080,796 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,419 shares during the period. Novartis comprises about 3.1% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Novartis worth $286,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 425.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $153.03 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.06.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

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.