Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,707,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Novo Nordisk A/S as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,031,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,588,000 after purchasing an additional 40,475 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,678,000 after purchasing an additional 286,912 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,362,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,266,000 after purchasing an additional 47,496 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $90.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $407.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $77.82 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.