Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by S.A. Mason LLC

S.A. Mason LLC cut its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 83.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,883,000 after acquiring an additional 964,640 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 21,457 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO stock opened at $128.05 on Thursday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $75.56 and a twelve month high of $138.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $574.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.22.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.664 dividend. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Profile

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.