Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 651,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,576 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S makes up approximately 1.1% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $56,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,125,000 after buying an additional 80,070 shares during the period. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,066,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $83.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $376.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $78.17 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 21.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “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.