Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 3,136,212 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 119% from the previous session’s volume of 1,431,974 shares.The stock last traded at $96.08 and had previously closed at $96.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Novartis Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $202.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 34.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.