Brokerages Set Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Price Target at $145.25

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.25.

NVO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $158,657,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NVO opened at $71.74 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.75. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $321.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $71.60 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

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.