Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Cfra Research raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cfra set a $126.00 price target on shares of Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $156.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis has a twelve month low of $97.71 and a twelve month high of $157.57. The company has a market capitalization of $331.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $524.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.9% during the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 9,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.