Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 9% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price traded down 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $78.30 and last traded at $79.31. 6,031,872 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,326,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.86. The firm has a market cap of $353.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 80,070 shares during the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.