Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 2.1%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares traded down 2.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $125.92 and last traded at $125.99. 1,203,369 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,808,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $564.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.664 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 49.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 83.3% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth about $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 136.6% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 15,860 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.