Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 1.1%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $129.74 and last traded at $129.48. Approximately 1,043,598 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 5,186,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVO. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.38. The stock has a market cap of $576.20 billion, a PE ratio of 47.54, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.664 per share. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 23,419,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,129,761,000 after acquiring an additional 11,727,507 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,077,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,098,328,000 after buying an additional 6,654,614 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 11,814,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,222,164,000 after purchasing an additional 210,087 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 96.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,215,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,021,000 after buying an additional 4,526,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 9,097,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,354,000 after buying an additional 4,350,862 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.