Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 1,038,137 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S, acquiring over 1 million shares, which lifts their total ownership to approximately 1.04 million shares valued at $72.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including North Star Investment Management Corp and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, have also raised their stakes in Novo Nordisk during the first quarter.
• Despite a recent earnings beat, shares of Novo Nordisk A/S have seen mixed analyst ratings, with upgrades and downgrades, including a target price reduction from TD Cowen, reflecting varied investor sentiment.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 15,919.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,044,658 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,038,137 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $72,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 18.2% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 20,742 shares of the company's stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 839,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,316,000 after purchasing an additional 47,804 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter worth about $390,000. Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter worth about $505,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 261,243 shares of the company's stock worth $18,141,000 after purchasing an additional 35,329 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVO shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $53.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.66. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $45.05 and a 1 year high of $138.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.51 billion. On average, analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.4119 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is 22.53%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.

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