Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 1.1% Higher

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price traded up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $127.30 and last traded at $127.15. 1,255,884 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,768,842 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $569.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.05, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.664 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 49.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacific Center for Financial Services increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.