Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Up 3.6% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) rose 3.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.43 and last traded at $62.05. Approximately 3,635,751 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 6,032,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $74.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.18. The company has a market capitalization of $276.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company's stock worth $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares during the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company's stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company's stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,066,000. 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.