Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $82.44 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $77.82 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization 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 current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 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 currently 21.88%.

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.