Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) fell 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $127.29 and last traded at $127.73. 1,160,650 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 5,211,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NVO. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $576.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.38.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.664 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 83.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 182.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,883,000 after buying an additional 964,640 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 94.0% during the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after buying an additional 21,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 3,166 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.