Saratoga Research & Investment Management Has $60.27 Million Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 700,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,885 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises 3.0% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $60,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,451,000 after buying an additional 1,602,549 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

NVO opened at $69.36 on Monday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $67.38 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.33 and its 200 day moving average is $98.64. 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 (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change 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 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.