Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 81,163 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 276.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,551 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,163 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $9,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on 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 Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NVO opened at $76.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $344.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $73.80 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 announced 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 represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 47.72%.

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.