Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Decreases Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,174 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:NVS opened at $160.21 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.30. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $338.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

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.