Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Grows Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,629 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S makes up 1.0% of Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $3,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO opened at $87.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $392.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $84.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.85. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $77.82 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.