Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares fell 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $82.71 and last traded at $83.29. 1,303,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,967,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.22. 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 company has a market cap of $395.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted 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%. On average, equities research 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 issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,955 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after buying an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after buying an additional 40,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. 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.