Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 0.5% Higher

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) were up 0.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $124.54 and last traded at $123.39. Approximately 1,419,238 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 4,830,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NVO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $550.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.88.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.664 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 49.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 83.3% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 182.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,883,000 after purchasing an additional 964,640 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 94.0% in the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 21,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.