Vestcor Inc Has $688,000 Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 50,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after purchasing an additional 20,546 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 15,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Guild Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Guild Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 7,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE NVO opened at $77.22 on Monday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $73.80 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.79.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NVO. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.