Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $1.07 Million Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Empower Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Quarterback LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 12,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 73,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,254,000 after acquiring an additional 3,989 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 60,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 15,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $82.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.15. The company has a market cap of $369.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $77.82 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 21.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NVO shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.