Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $89.72 and last traded at $90.58. Approximately 2,786,036 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 9,171,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVO. 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. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $402.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results 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, analysts predict 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. 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%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after buying an additional 80,070 shares during the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 30,420 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,066,000. 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.