Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 3,263 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 190,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,263 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $16,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NVO. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $90.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $77.82 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.72.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results 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 predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 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.