Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 0.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price rose 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $90.19 and last traded at $89.87. Approximately 2,446,901 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 9,114,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $406.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.90.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.8% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 2,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 158,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,918,000 after acquiring an additional 37,585 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.7% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 41,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,976,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.9% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 8,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.