Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $59.32 and last traded at $61.12, with a volume of 9969565 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVO. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $290.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.95. 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 (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Indie Asset Partners LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.