Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Acquires New Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 83.3% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at about $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 182.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,883,000 after acquiring an additional 964,640 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 94.0% in the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 21,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NVO stock traded down $2.41 on Wednesday, reaching $126.23. 2,132,573 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,820,954. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $126.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.54. The company has a market capitalization of $566.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $75.56 and a 12-month high of $138.28.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.664 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NVO. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.60.

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.