Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Shares Gap Up to $95.12

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $95.12, but opened at $98.74. Novartis shares last traded at $98.10, with a volume of 876,694 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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). Novartis had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 31.33%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.15 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP grew its stake in Novartis by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 2,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 44,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.