Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 165,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,765 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $14,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 29,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 81.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 650,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 291,524 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,346 shares of the company's stock worth $1,664,000 after buying an additional 5,795 shares during the period. Somerville Kurt F increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 8,970 shares of the company's stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Puzo Michael J lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Puzo Michael J now owns 5,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.51. 2,577,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,801,147. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $59.32 and a 52 week high of $148.15.

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 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 fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.