Strategy Asset Managers LLC Decreases Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC trimmed its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVO. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $69.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $69.18 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The company has a market cap of $311.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.89.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.