Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price rose 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $77.29 and last traded at $77.12. Approximately 2,746,436 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 5,364,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Three research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $346.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.24.

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, topping 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 predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 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 given a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marco Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.