Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Sells 40,149 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 43.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,149 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $404,910,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after buying an additional 692,567 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,072,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after acquiring an additional 451,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NVO opened at $80.95 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $73.80 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.98. 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 firm has a market cap of $363.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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, 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 company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.