Financial Management Network Inc. Makes New Investment in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Financial Management Network Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10,608.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,813,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,635 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth $98,765,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth $42,017,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,678,000 after buying an additional 286,912 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $82.44 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $77.82 and a one year high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $369.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.84.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NVO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.