Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 0.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price was up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.57 and last traded at $80.31. Approximately 2,009,699 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 5,387,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.67 and a 200-day moving average of $101.82. The firm has a market cap of $354.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at about $158,657,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.