Amundi Has $283.62 Million Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Amundi grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 692,567 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $283,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 451,641 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,017,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 286,912 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $87.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.07. The company has a market cap of $391.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $77.82 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend 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 payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.