Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $164,000 Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lessened its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 74.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,601 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 50,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after acquiring an additional 20,546 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.7% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 15,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,953 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Guild Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Guild Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 7,191 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of NVO opened at $74.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $73.80 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.83.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. 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 issued a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.