Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Buys New Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,477,000 after acquiring an additional 451,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $42,017,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,678,000 after acquiring an additional 286,912 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,655.9% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 280,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,388,000 after purchasing an additional 270,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO stock opened at $87.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.29. The company has a market cap of $391.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $77.82 and a 12-month high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVO. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Three equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

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.