Stephens Inc. AR Sells 55,463 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,463 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $8,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares during the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Talbot Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth about $4,066,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $450,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $86.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $78.17 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm has a market cap of $387.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.