Avestar Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Avestar Capital LLC cut its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,146 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $78.78 on Friday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $78.17 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.91 and its 200 day moving average is $110.40. The company has a market cap of $353.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.88%.

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.