Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 719 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in 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. Folketrygdfondet increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% in the fourth 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $404,910,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $345,588,000 after buying an additional 40,475 shares during the period. 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 $70.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $314.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $69.77 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. 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 firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NVO. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.