Assetmark Inc. Increases Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 449,130 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,248 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $38,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Academy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $13,257,000. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $1,576,000. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 39,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 12,629 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 66,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $90.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $407.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $77.82 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.74. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on NVO shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.