Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,598 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 23,223 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NVO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE NVO opened at $76.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $344.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.98. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $73.80 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

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.