Alta Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Alta Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 204,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 602 shares during the quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $17,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $89.42 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.18. The firm has a market cap of $401.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $77.82 and a 52 week high of $148.15. 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 (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVO. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.