On April 29, 2023, the financial world caught wind of an intriguing update regarding M&T Bank Corp’s recent move to cut its position in Novartis AG shares by a significant margin. According to the company’s most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), M&T Bank Corp sold 94,135 shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter, reducing its position in the healthcare product manufacturer by 45.5%. The remaining holdings of M&T Bank Corp amounted to 112,892 shares with a value of $8,970,000.
Novartis AG is a holding company that specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing healthcare products. The corporation operates through three segments; Innovative Medicines, Sandoz and Corporate. Notably, its Innovative Medicines segment conducts research and development of patented pharmaceuticals under two business units; Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
On Friday during mid-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NVS traded down $0.04 at $102.61 per share as 1,400,326 shares were transacted compared to an average volume of 2,212,583 shares over time. It gained popularity amongst investors for having a market cap worth $217.49 billion with a PE ratio at 31.58 and price-to-earnings-growth ratio holding steady at around 1.82 – indicating promising growth prospects. The beta for NVS remains at approximately .54 – less volatile than the overall market – portraying it as a stable investment opportunity.
The decision of M&T bank Corp to decrease its investment portfolio in Novartis AG is expected to catch the attention of many other financial institutions looking to diversify their holdings or make necessary changes due to shifts in broader economic circumstances. Many seasoned investors are keeping close tabs on these developments and will be analyzing consequential decisions made over the coming months to forecast the trajectory of Novartis AG as an investment in the coming fiscal year.
As investments go through their life cycle, some notable updates and releases make headlines for those interested in keeping tabs on which way the winds are blowing. For those who hold shares or want to know more about NVS, it is likely to be a fascinating journey in the years ahead.
Novartis AG gains attention from large investors and receives mixed analyst reports amid dividend changes.
Novartis AG, a healthcare product development and marketing company, has recently gained the attention of large investors. Several investors have now increased their holdings in Novartis with Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifting its position by 103% during the first quarter. This brings its total number of shares to 1,992,558 valued at $174,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,806 shares in the last quarter.
MUFG Securities EMEA plc also acquired new positions in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,110,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted their position by 27.2% during the first quarter and now owns 2,781,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,085,000 after purchasing an additional 594,194 shares in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has recently increased its holdings in Novartis by a staggering 872% during the fourth quarter and now owns 619932 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,240,000 after acquiring additional 556154 shares throughout this period.
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP also hiked up their holdings by 7.7% during the third quarter with currently owning around 6,503191 shares of Novartis’ stock worth approximately $494313000 after buying an additional 465677shares on this same time frame.
All these transactions summed up to a total ownership amounting to about 8.12% of Novartis’ stocks is currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In addition to this recent move made by large investors in favor of Novartis’ shares; several analysts have issued reports regarding the company’s business direction as well as giving tips and evaluations based on statistical data analysis. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from hold rating to buy rating while JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded their shares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. BTIG Research, meanwhile, lifted their target price from $75.00 to $85.00 in their research note released on April 19th.
Despite this string of upgrades, Citigroup downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating penalizing the company’s stocks after announcing it recently changed its annual dividend frequency arrangement. The company will report their earnings results for Q1 of 2023 soon which most analysts expect EPS of around $1.71 compared to 2022’s EPS of $1.55 during the same quarter.
Novartis AG announced its latest annual dividend payout as well which was paid out on Monday, March 20th relieving news for shareholders who own stock upon record for the date preceding the payout announcement period as it will bring into effect further compensation for them at $3.4694 per share which is an improvement over last year’s payout of $1.18 per share.Dividend yield calculations have shown that this new payout represents a yield of about 2.6% and Novartis’ present payout ratio stands at about 69.85%; One dividend investor expert believes that the current tone among investment experts signals that NVS may be resetting itself up for another sequence of upward gains and dividends enhancements by issuing quarterly dividends instead within shorter intervals rather than annually which would benefit long term hold investors wanting to cash in on compounding momentum come next fiscal year end-sessions.
Overall, Novartis AG has been given various evaluations and has witnessed numerous modifications in holdings; but with its recent vast increase ownership by institutional investors alongside the improved targets set in place we can anticipate investors’ future strategies amid dramatic changes where patience now might reward handsomely later on like those trusting the pharma-industry greatness and belief in the power of the pharmaceutical giant.
