Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 5% – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was down 5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $73.80 and last traded at $74.18. Approximately 3,716,135 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 5,352,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $335.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.04.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,811,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $479,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $540,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 72,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,276,000 after buying an additional 6,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.