Delta Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 21,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after buying an additional 80,070 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO opened at $88.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.07. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $77.82 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.88%.

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.