Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Purchases New Shares in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased 16,174 shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter, valued at approximately $1,123,000.
• Novo Nordisk A/S reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.89.
• As of now, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a consensus price target of $93.67.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth $158,657,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,332,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,955 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,689,098 shares of the company's stock worth $403,356,000 after purchasing an additional 991,022 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 543.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,167,498 shares of the company's stock worth $100,428,000 after purchasing an additional 986,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE:NVO traded up $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,312,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,928,642. The company has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.63. 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 fifty-two week low of $45.05 and a fifty-two week high of $139.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.55 and a 200-day moving average of $71.81.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.51 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.4119 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.67.

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.