Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,049 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $404,910,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings 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. Amundi increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after buying an additional 692,567 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,072,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,477,000 after buying an additional 451,641 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $80.26 on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $73.80 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.39. The firm has a market cap of $360.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a 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 currently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

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.