Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 4,138,932 shares were traded during 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $229.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $641,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,649,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $324,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.