Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares were up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $79.07 and last traded at $78.92. Approximately 3,188,839 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 9,098,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $349.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.65 and a 200 day moving average of $109.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 21.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,917,000 after buying an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.