Primecap Management Co. CA Has $1.20 Billion Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,341,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,059,580 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.44% of Novartis worth $1,197,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 358,282 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 78,483 shares in 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 worth $233,302,000 after buying an additional 82,369 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,597,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $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% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1%

NVS opened at $166.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.66 and a 200-day moving average of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $168.02.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cfra set a $126.00 target price on shares of Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

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.