Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,610 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $6,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 297,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,634,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 113.1% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 23,238 shares in the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,591,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.2 %

NVO stock opened at $70.18 on Friday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $69.77 and a 52 week high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $314.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.54.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. 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 is 47.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. 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 decreased their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.