Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stake Lessened by Bank OZK

Bank OZK cut its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,031,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,588,000 after acquiring an additional 40,475 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the third 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. DSM Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $172,678,000 after purchasing an additional 286,912 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,362,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,266,000 after purchasing an additional 47,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $90.68 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $406.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $77.82 and a 52 week high of $148.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.90.

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, 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of 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. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.