Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,535 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,863 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $9,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth 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. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.25.

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Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO stock traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $68.00. The company had a trading volume of 6,209,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,581,254. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $66.88 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The company has a market capitalization of $305.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.89 and a 200-day moving average of $97.68.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is 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.