Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $86.38 and last traded at $87.04. 1,894,348 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 8,684,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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 capitalization 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.07.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $479,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $540,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 72,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares during the period. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth $542,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.