Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 103,509 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 81.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103,509 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $1,015,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 72,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,198,000 after acquiring an additional 27,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO stock opened at $89.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.18. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $77.82 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side 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 company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is an increase 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.