Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,135 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,299 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $8,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,910,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company's stock worth $459,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,615,000 after purchasing an additional 692,567 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at $51,072,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NVO. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently 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

NVO traded down $0.81 during trading hours 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. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $69.18 and a 12 month high of $148.15. 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 50-day moving average price is $82.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.11. The stock has a market cap of $311.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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 (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

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.