Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Buys 22,754 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,121 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,754 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $5,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVO. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NVO opened at $69.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.89. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $69.18 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. 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 investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

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.