Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) dropped 2.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.86 and last traded at $70.23. Approximately 2,558,450 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 5,455,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.11. The stock has a market cap of $311.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in 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 in the 4th quarter valued at $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $158,657,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.