Focus Financial Network Inc. Raises Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,870 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10,608.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,813,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,635 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at about $98,765,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,017,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,655.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 280,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,388,000 after acquiring an additional 270,234 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 2.3 %

NVO opened at $81.78 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $78.17 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVO. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

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.