Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO Stock Position Lowered by Ieq Capital LLC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, now owning 25,686 shares valued at approximately $1.784 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Novo Nordisk A/S during the same period, with Zuckerman Investment Group and FORA Capital raising their positions by 28.6% and 38.9%, respectively.
• Novo Nordisk A/S reported a net margin of 35.60% and beat earnings estimates with $0.97 earnings per share, suggesting strong financial performance in its latest quarter.

Ieq Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 27.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,686 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,745 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 7,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 49,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,449,000 after buying an additional 13,917 shares during the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 16,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 1st quarter valued at about $630,000. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 3,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on NVO shares. HSBC cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO stock traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $56.37. 11,609,027 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,758,394. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $45.05 and a 1-year high of $138.62. The stock has a market cap of $251.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.46 and a 200-day moving average of $68.12. 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 (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 35.60% and a return on equity of 78.64%. The business had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.51 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.4119 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.