Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% during the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $86.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $78.17 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The stock has a market cap of $387.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.83.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. 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. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.