Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 11,157 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 78.8%, selling 11,157 shares and bringing their total to 2,997 shares, valued at around $208,000.
• The company recently reported an EPS of $0.97 for the quarter, beating expectations, with revenues of $11.69 billion.
• Several research firms have downgraded the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.67.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 78.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,997 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,157 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 13,060 shares of the company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Group increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 2,884 shares of the company's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on NVO shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.67.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO stock traded up $2.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.06. 23,312,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,770,900. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $67.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.63. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $45.05 and a twelve month high of $139.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.4119 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is 45.05%.

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.