Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Purchases 811 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,470 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $89.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.30. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $77.82 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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