Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Position Reduced by Decatur Capital Management Inc.

Decatur Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 7.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,677 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,485,000 after buying an additional 3,151,584 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,114,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,536 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,300.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,244,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,313 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,857,000 after buying an additional 823,036 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34,472.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 691,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,696,000 after buying an additional 689,441 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NVO opened at $126.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $132.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $569.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $86.96 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. Research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.5126 per share. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.17.

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.