Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $82.71 and last traded at $83.29. 1,303,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,967,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $375.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.89 and a 200-day moving average of $108.66.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase 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 currently 21.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,657,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.