Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 56,822 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 167.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,751 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,822 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $7,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 4,489 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,362,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,266,000 after purchasing an additional 47,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 79,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley began 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. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $76.88 on Friday. 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 cap of $344.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.22.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

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.