GQG Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for approximately 1.7% of GQG Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,117,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 79,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,360,000 after acquiring an additional 28,988 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 53.1% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 10,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $75.30 on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $73.80 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The stock has a market cap of $337.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.35.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. 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. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

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.