Motco Sells 320 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Motco reduced its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $90.68 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.82 and a 200 day moving average of $106.90. The stock has a market cap of $406.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $77.82 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS 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 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NVO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.