Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price was down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $85.04 and last traded at $85.05. Approximately 2,080,390 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 9,237,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.60. The firm has a market cap of $366.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,917,000 after purchasing an additional 40,313 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.