Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,585,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,484 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox owned 0.50% of Novartis worth $1,357,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of Novartis by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $57,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $153.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $324.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 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. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.23.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $4.773 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.80.

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.