Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,728 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 365 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the second quarter worth $25,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 200.0% during the second quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter valued at $26,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NVO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NVO stock opened at $136.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $134.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.77. The company has a market capitalization of $613.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $86.96 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.83%.

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.