Virtu Financial LLC Acquires 6,561 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 176.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,275 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,561 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Novartis by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 15,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 294,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,836,000 after buying an additional 42,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $112.11 on Monday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.67 and a 200-day moving average of $107.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 42.69%.

Novartis 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.