Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Acquired by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 97.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,639 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,104 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $3,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after buying an additional 23,223 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $75.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $73.80 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.16 and a 200-day moving average of $100.35. The company has a market cap of $337.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

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.