Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Up 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) traded up 3.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $77.29 and last traded at $77.12. 2,746,436 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 5,364,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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 began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $339.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.39 and its 200-day moving average is $103.83. 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, sell-side 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 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 is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. 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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,811,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $479,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth approximately $540,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 72,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,276,000 after buying an additional 6,560 shares during the period. 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.