Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 0.5%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $124.54 and last traded at $123.39. 1,419,238 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,830,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $552.15 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.664 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 18,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,035,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571,747 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,131,000 after purchasing an additional 6,903 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 12.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 17.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 107,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15,996 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.