Investors Purchase Large Volume of Novartis Call Options (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS – Get Rating) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 34,343 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,092% compared to the typical volume of 2,881 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 2,018.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 146.7% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 8.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. Citigroup lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Novartis from CHF 82 to CHF 84 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.63.

Novartis Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $83.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $184.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.48 and its 200-day moving average is $84.82. Novartis has a 1 year low of $74.09 and a 1 year high of $94.26.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $3.4694 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.14%.

Novartis Company Profile

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Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.