Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 5,225 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC decreased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,225 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,009 shares of the company's stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NVO traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,852,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,563,763. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $82.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.11. The firm has a market cap of $311.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $69.18 and a one year 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase 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 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.