Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Martin Investment Management LLC

Martin Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,256 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises about 6.7% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $24,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after buying an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,549 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE NVO opened at $68.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $66.81 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The company has a market capitalization of $305.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.68.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.