Earnest Partners LLC Sells 10,181 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 840,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,181 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $107,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 28,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Cannell & Spears LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 29.5% in the third quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 11.4% in the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on NVS shares. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.80.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $153.46 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $324.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.49. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. Novartis’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

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.