Spire Wealth Management Purchases 37,518 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2,561.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,983 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,518 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during 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. Country Trust Bank grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic pipeline lift — acquisition adds Exl‑111, a next‑generation anti‑IgE candidate designed to dissociate receptor‑bound IgE and potentially deliver faster, deeper suppression across food allergy, urticaria and asthma; strengthens Novartis’ allergy franchise and long‑term growth optionality. Novartis press release
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party validation of strategic rationale — Zacks and other outlets highlight the deal as a targeted move to shore up Novartis’ immunology/allergy pipeline, giving the company a potentially differentiated asset in an established biology area. Zacks: Novartis bolsters immunology pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $170 and moved to overweight, suggesting upside based on the company’s pipeline and strategic M&A. That supports a constructive medium‑term view despite near‑term noise. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley raises PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal terms and timing — Novartis will pay up to $2.0B in upfront and milestone payments; transaction expected to close in H2 2026 subject to customary conditions. That sets clear milestone watches but implies multi‑year value realization. Reuters: Deal terms
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on execution and timing — Goldman Sachs (via TipRanks) kept a Sell rating, citing long‑dated pipeline risk and looming loss‑of‑exclusivity (LOE) headwinds that the Excellergy add does not immediately offset; some investors may view the deal as expensive for an early‑stage asset. TipRanks: Goldman Sachs reaction

Novartis Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE NVS opened at $148.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.87. 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 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis 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.