Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Purchases New Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 102.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 48.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Novartis by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 20,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,505,000 after buying an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $163.09 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $144.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $163.42.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

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 paid a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

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.