Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after acquiring an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NVO stock opened at $62.88 on Thursday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $59.32 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The stock has a market cap of $282.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.55 and its 200-day moving average is $92.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.7874 dividend. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.