Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $83.41 and last traded at $83.31. 1,859,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 9,080,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVO. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two 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.com, the stock presently has an average 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 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $86.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.48. The firm has a market cap of $395.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 23,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 116.9% during the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 7,857 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $608,000. Finally, Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.