Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares were down 2.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.53 and last traded at $81.46. Approximately 2,550,585 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 9,115,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $366.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.6% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 7,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 35.3% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 83,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,989,000 after buying an additional 21,904 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 294,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,102,000 after buying an additional 13,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iams Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.2% during the third quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.