Fayez Sarofim & Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Fayez Sarofim & Co decreased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,384,481 shares of the company's stock after selling 832,637 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises 2.4% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned 0.25% of Novo Nordisk A/S worth $979,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,342 shares of the company's stock worth $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $57.99 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $260.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $57.28 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. 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 presently 49.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NVO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.

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