Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 3.1% – Still a Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was up 3.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $79.88 and last traded at $79.58. Approximately 1,699,065 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,385,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.