Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Bought by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Amundi boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after purchasing an additional 692,567 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,477,000 after purchasing an additional 451,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $42,017,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,678,000 after acquiring an additional 286,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 1.8 %

NVO opened at $77.22 on Monday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $73.80 and a one year 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.95 and its 200-day moving average is $102.79. The company has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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. 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. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 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.