Virtu Financial LLC Has $248,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its investment in Novartis AG by 78.4% during the 1st quarter, holding only 2,224 shares valued at approximately $248,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Invesco Ltd., have increased their positions in Novartis, reflecting a mixed sentiment in the market.
• Novartis reported earnings of $2.42 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and analysts have set a consensus target price of $123.50 for the stock.

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 78.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,224 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,051 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $1.0040 on Tuesday, reaching $125.0140. The stock had a trading volume of 1,028,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,504. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm's 50-day moving average is $118.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $125.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.50.

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.