Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 2,947,771 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,571,686 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for approximately 107.5% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.26% of Novo Nordisk A/S worth $995,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVO. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth $404,910,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company's stock worth $459,416,000 after buying an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,311,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,615,000 after buying an additional 692,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,072,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

NVO stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.36. 5,852,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,563,763. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.89. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $69.18 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

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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 (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.