Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $114.76 and last traded at $116.06. Approximately 1,475,328 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,274,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $160.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.23 and its 200 day moving average is $131.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $522.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. As a group, analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.5126 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is 24.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 11,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 7,565 shares during the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.3% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 28,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,636,000 after acquiring an additional 15,525 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 453.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 265,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,095,000 after acquiring an additional 217,545 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,624,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 41,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 14,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.