Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares traded down 1.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $74.89 and last traded at $75.69. 3,263,445 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 5,413,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock 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 company has a market cap of $337.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.74.

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 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 predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 79,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,485,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,360,000 after acquiring an additional 28,988 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at $330,000. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.7% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.