Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 0.1% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) were down 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $82.71 and last traded at $83.29. Approximately 1,303,826 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 8,967,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 5.2 %

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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.22. The company has a market capitalization of $395.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 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%. Equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This is an increase 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 is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the company's stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company's stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.