Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Has $5.96 Million Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S makes up 1.4% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $5,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $88.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.22. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $77.82 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) 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 net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. As a group, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

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.