Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Price Target Increased to $116.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

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

Separately, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $115.00.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. Novartis has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.93 and a 200-day moving average of $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 31.33%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Novartis

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.