Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 1.4% Higher - Should You Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.08 and last traded at $62.93. Approximately 1,748,372 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,093,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank cut Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $279.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.42. 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 (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities 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 company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.7874 dividend. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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