Martin Investment Management LLC Has $29.16 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Martin Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 211,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,239 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for about 7.6% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $29,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,362,000 after acquiring an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,035,000 after acquiring an additional 480,201 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Novartis by 3,309.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,656,000 after purchasing an additional 292,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,813,000 after purchasing an additional 265,861 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 3.0%

NVS stock opened at $145.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $112.34 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.98.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

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.