Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price shot up 5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $88.48 and last traded at $87.94. 4,985,417 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 8,943,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

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 $395.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.01 and its 200 day moving average is $108.07.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.88%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 9,272 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.6% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 5,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.7% in the third quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 3,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 11,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 3,243 shares in the last quarter. 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.