William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $1.89 Million Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 58.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,933 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,306,000. GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 20,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 7,369 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 480.5% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 21,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 18,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hutchinson Capital Management CA boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 175,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,109,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.6 %

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $78.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $354.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $73.80 and a 52-week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.82.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

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.