Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.88 and last traded at $69.58, with a volume of 6821438 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.17. The company has a market cap of $312.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.