Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $167.29 and last traded at $166.4650, with a volume of 192562 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $163.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Up 1.8%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $350.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.86.

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 company had revenue of $524.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.31%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,926,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,742 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 27.7% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after purchasing an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 5.8% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 439,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,411,000 after acquiring an additional 23,978 shares during 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.