Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price was up 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $119.04 and last traded at $118.61. Approximately 741,192 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,288,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports 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 Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $160.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $531.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.81.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. The business had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.91 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.5126 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151,584 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 257,816.0% during the second quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,593,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,303 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,300.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,244,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,313 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,857,000 after purchasing an additional 823,036 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34,472.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 691,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,696,000 after buying an additional 689,441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.