Choate Investment Advisors Acquires 4,288 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,863 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVO. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth $297,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 33.2% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 12.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 18,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 69,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NVO. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.8 %

NVO opened at $77.22 on Friday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $73.80 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend 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.