Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. has invested approximately $1.13 million in Novo Nordisk A/S, purchasing 16,300 shares during the first quarter.
• Novo Nordisk A/S has seen institutional investors rapidly adjusting their positions, with notable increases in holdings by several firms, highlighting growing interest in the company.
• Despite reporting a quarterly earnings per share of $0.97 and exceeding estimates, Novo Nordisk A/S also announced a recent cut to its dividend yield.

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,132,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 10,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,035,639 shares of the company's stock worth $71,915,000 after purchasing an additional 169,762 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 15,313 shares of the company's stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 15,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 4,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aperture Investors LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Aperture Investors LLC now owns 63,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,431,000 after acquiring an additional 9,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.8%

NVO stock traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.15. The company had a trading volume of 15,486,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,631,845. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $45.05 and a 52 week high of $138.22. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.62. The stock has a market cap of $246.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.66.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%.The firm had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.51 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4119 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. Dbs Bank upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.