Clare Market Investments LLC Invests $1.25 Million in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,250,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $404,910,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,615,000 after purchasing an additional 692,567 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings 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 acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth $42,017,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,678,000 after purchasing an additional 286,912 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NVO shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO opened at $87.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $391.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.86. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $77.82 and a twelve month high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

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.