Rakuten Securities Inc. Cuts Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Rakuten Securities Inc. cut its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 74.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,601 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marco Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% in 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 period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $74.75 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $73.80 and a 52 week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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 47.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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 downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

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.