Natixis Purchases 25,192 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Natixis increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 966.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,798 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,192 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVO. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $58.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $261.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $75.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $57.00 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

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.

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