Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,479,307 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 419,988 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $617,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 15,950.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $146.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $112.34 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.52. The firm has a market cap of $279.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Novartis Company 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.