Illumine Investment Management LLC Makes New $242,000 Investment in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Illumine Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,031,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,588,000 after buying an additional 40,475 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after buying an additional 80,070 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,678,000 after buying an additional 286,912 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,362,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,266,000 after buying an additional 47,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $400.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $77.82 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVO. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.