Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,193 Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVO. LGL Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 32,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 38,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,017,000 after acquiring an additional 16,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE NVO traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $128.18. 7,217,297 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,787,730. The stock has a market cap of $575.21 billion, a PE ratio of 47.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.92 and a 200-day moving average of $112.40. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $75.56 and a one year high of $138.28.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.60.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.