Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires New Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVO. Boston Family Office LLC boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 44,804 shares of the company's stock worth $3,854,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $43,275,000. Mosaic Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 180.7% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Financial Group LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,348 shares of the company's stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 95.4% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 45,697 shares of the company's stock worth $3,931,000 after buying an additional 22,314 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO traded down $4.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.58. 10,847,371 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,643,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $62.37 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $80.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.50. The firm has a market cap of $280.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders 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 is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.25.

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.