Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,388 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $24,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,283,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,549 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 90,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,813,000 after purchasing an additional 29,787 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 60,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,172,000 after buying an additional 22,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NVO opened at $69.36 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $311.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $67.60 and a one year high of $148.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.64.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVO. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.