Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) dropped 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $78.95 and last traded at $78.90. Approximately 999,543 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,398,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $353.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.82.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639,693 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth $158,657,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.