Knuff & Co LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 111.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,074 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.0 %

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $73.28 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.04. The firm has a market cap of $350.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVO shares. 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.