Sierra Ocean LLC Takes $405,000 Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Talbot Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,066,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $450,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NVO shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on 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. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $77.94 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.70. The company has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $77.82 and a twelve month high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 21.88%.

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.