Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 3.9% Higher – What’s Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price rose 3.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.90 and last traded at $90.90. Approximately 2,683,891 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 8,802,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. 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 on the stock. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 4.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $408.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.84 and its 200 day moving average is $105.85.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVO. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,189,000 after buying an additional 2,639,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $158,657,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.