Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares were down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $69.63 and last traded at $70.00. Approximately 1,821,407 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 5,468,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $311.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after buying an additional 23,223 shares during the period. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at about $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.