Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NVO. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $82.44 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $77.82 and a one year high of $148.15. The stock has a market cap of $369.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $87.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.84.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities 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 company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 21.88%.

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.