Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 23,223 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $5,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marco Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $77.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $73.80 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.