Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Purchased by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,049 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $80.26 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.39. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $73.80 and a one year 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 $360.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. On average, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

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.