Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,748 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Folketrygdfondet grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after buying an additional 40,313 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,498 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $404,910,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,031,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,588,000 after purchasing an additional 40,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,615,000 after purchasing an additional 692,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NVO stock opened at $80.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.81 and a 200 day moving average of $101.98. 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 1-year low of $73.80 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 research note on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.