Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $83.41 and last traded at $83.31. 1,859,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 9,080,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 5.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $395.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,955 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th 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 lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet boosted its stake 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,084,000 after purchasing an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.