14,360 Shares in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Acquired by Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises approximately 1.1% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company's stock worth $995,397,000 after buying an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company's stock worth $368,451,000 after buying an additional 1,602,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,340,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

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Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE NVO traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $68.20. 7,301,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,593,302. The business's 50 day moving average price is $81.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.47. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $66.33 and a 52-week high of $148.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $306.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is 47.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.