Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,281,161 shares of the company's stock after selling 186,802 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $110,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 71,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,137,000 after acquiring an additional 43,678 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 90,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,806,000 after purchasing an additional 56,822 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 18,455 shares of the company's stock worth $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,186 shares of the company's stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,390 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE NVO traded down $1.55 on Thursday, reaching $70.18. 7,960,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,475,702. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $82.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.