Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) traded down 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.86 and last traded at $70.23. 2,558,450 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 5,455,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NVO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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 current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $314.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 79,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,360,000 after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.0% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 6,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 31.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 51,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,098,000 after buying an additional 12,399 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is 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.