Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 20,546 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 69.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,283 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,546 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 4.3 %

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

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.