OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Raises Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 98.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,376 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,101 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $78.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $73.80 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The stock has a market cap of $354.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.82.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.