Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 9% – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price fell 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $78.30 and last traded at $79.31. 6,031,872 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,326,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set 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 research note on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities 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 business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,811,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $479,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $540,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas increased 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 valued at $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.