Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.5%

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) traded down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $132.85 and last traded at $134.90. 767,347 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,238,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVO. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Argus lifted their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 2.2 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.20. The firm has a market cap of $605.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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 return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.