Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB cut its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $62.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $62.37 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The firm has a market cap of $280.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NVO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.