Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.6% - Here's Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $85.04 and last traded at $85.05. 2,080,390 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 9,237,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVO. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock worth $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company's stock worth $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10,608.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,813,571 shares of the company's stock worth $215,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company's stock worth $368,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

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.