Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price fell 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $87.85 and last traded at $88.79. 2,198,647 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 8,768,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $395.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.