Lafayette Investments Inc. Buys 40,725 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Key Points

• Lafayette Investments Inc. significantly increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 579.4%, acquiring an additional 40,725 shares, bringing their total holdings to 47,754 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• The company recently reported an EPS of $0.97 for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations, and had a strong net margin of 35.60% and return on equity of 78.64%.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Novo Nordisk, with some moving from "hold" to "strong-buy", indicating a positive shift in market sentiment for the stock.

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 579.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,754 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,725 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 184.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 162.3% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $55.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $249.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.64. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $45.05 and a 1-year high of $117.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.51 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio is 22.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Rothschild Redb raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.

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