Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Trims Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,118 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10,608.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,813,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,942,000 after buying an additional 1,796,635 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,765,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $42,017,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,655.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 280,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,388,000 after purchasing an additional 270,234 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE NVO opened at $86.39 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $387.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $78.17 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVO. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

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.