Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives $119.75 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Novartis Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $165.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.36. Novartis has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $168.02. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 102.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 11,444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.