Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $82.62, but opened at $86.43. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $86.03, with a volume of 2,145,403 shares.

The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 86.32% and a net margin of 35.03%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $391.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.01.

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.