Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares were down 2.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $79.29 and last traded at $79.52. Approximately 3,630,390 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 9,047,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after buying an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,917,000 after acquiring an additional 40,313 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,084,000 after acquiring an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.