Equitable Trust Co. Lowers Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,339 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $7,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $86.39 on Monday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $78.17 and a 52 week high of $148.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $387.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 21.88%.

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.