Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) were down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $79.61 and last traded at $79.69. Approximately 1,245,116 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 5,392,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $341.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.53 and a 200-day moving average of $101.66.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,955 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew 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 valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,917,000 after acquiring an additional 40,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,084,000 after purchasing an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. 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.