Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 4,138,932 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 191% from the previous session’s volume of 1,422,813 shares.The stock last traded at $111.99 and had previously closed at $109.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.48. The company has a market capitalization of $229.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.