Ironwood Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,912 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 196.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO stock opened at $77.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.24. 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 has a 12-month low of $73.80 and a 12-month high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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 (DPR) is presently 47.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.