Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 2.1% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares fell 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.86 and last traded at $70.23. 2,558,450 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 5,455,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley started 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.3 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.75. The stock has a market cap of $314.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,165,955 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after purchasing an additional 40,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.