Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Downgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on NVO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $145.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NVO opened at $120.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $92.94 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $538.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.66%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151,584 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 257,816.0% in the second quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,593,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,303 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,300.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,244,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,313 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,857,000 after buying an additional 823,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34,472.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 691,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,696,000 after buying an additional 689,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.