Denali Advisors LLC Sells 12,436 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,887 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,436 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 451,641 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at about $42,017,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,678,000 after purchasing an additional 286,912 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,655.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 280,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,388,000 after purchasing an additional 270,234 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 729,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,183,000 after purchasing an additional 254,475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $89.67 on Thursday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $77.82 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.30.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

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.