Saturna Capital Corp Has $181.67 Million Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Saturna Capital Corp lessened its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,111,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,090 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for about 2.5% of Saturna Capital Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $181,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,917,000 after buying an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after acquiring an additional 692,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $73.28 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.61 and a 200-day moving average of $104.04. 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 (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.