Moran Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 372,693 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,942 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for about 1.0% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $32,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marco Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NVO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on 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, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $87.19 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.86. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $77.82 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 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%. On average, research 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 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.