Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 1,225 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,798 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $90.68 on Friday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $77.82 and a 52 week high of $148.15. The firm has a market cap of $406.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change 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 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.