Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 719 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO stock opened at $70.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $314.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $69.77 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.52 and a 200-day moving average of $99.54.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.