Folketrygdfondet Has $765.92 Million Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Folketrygdfondet lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S makes up about 17.2% of Folketrygdfondet’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Folketrygdfondet’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $765,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NVO opened at $87.19 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $391.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $77.82 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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%. 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 company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVO shares. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.