Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Acquired by Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 135.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 830,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,434,000 after buying an additional 477,557 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,549 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 90,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,813,000 after purchasing an additional 29,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $69.36 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.33 and its 200-day moving average is $98.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $311.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $67.16 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released 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%. Equities research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports 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 Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.