Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $65.16 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $292.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $59.52 and a one year high of $148.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.43.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,017,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 279,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,198,000 after purchasing an additional 17,641 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 269,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,059,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 3,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.