Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have 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, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $81.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $366.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.60. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $78.17 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released 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%. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.88%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 294,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,102,000 after acquiring an additional 13,203 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 15.2% in the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Safeguard Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth $330,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.