Simplify Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 39,427 Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 39,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,628,000. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises about 0.4% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Folketrygdfondet boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% in the first quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,756,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,124,275,000 after buying an additional 124,770 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,857,000 after acquiring an additional 823,036 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,297,536 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,254,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,242,000 after purchasing an additional 58,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NVO opened at $134.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $605.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.52, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $133.43 and a 200 day moving average of $133.20. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $86.96 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.5126 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.