Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,149 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,498 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after buying an additional 692,567 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $51,072,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after buying an additional 451,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $80.95 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $73.80 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.98. The firm has a market cap of $363.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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, 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%. Analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVO. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate 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.