Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 2.3% - Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $59.52 and last traded at $60.21. Approximately 3,089,586 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 5,691,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on NVO shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $290.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $77.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. 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 is currently 49.54%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,955 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in 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. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted 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 purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet boosted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company's stock worth $765,917,000 after purchasing an additional 40,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,084,000 after purchasing an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.