BMO Capital Markets Raises Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Price Target to $116.00

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $114.00 to $116.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $114.00 target price for the company.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $97.44 on Wednesday. Novartis has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in Novartis by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.