Novartis AG Announces Annual Dividend of $4.77 (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) announced an annual dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of 4.773 per share on Monday, March 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th.

Novartis has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Novartis has a payout ratio of 28.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Novartis to earn $8.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.59 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.4%.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.68 on Thursday, hitting $154.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,901,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,982,525. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $139.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.36. The stock has a market cap of $326.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Novartis has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $154.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $524.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 48.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 8.9% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 33,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.