Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. Lowers Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. significantly reduced its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S, cutting its holdings by 68%, now owning 270,168 shares worth approximately $18.76 million.
• Multiple large investors have also adjusted their holdings in Novo Nordisk, including North Star Investment Management Corp., which increased its stake by 18.2% during the same period.
• Analysts have downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S recently, with HSBC and others changing ratings from "buy" to "hold," while the consensus price target is set at $83.75.

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. cut its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 68.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,168 shares of the company's stock after selling 572,800 shares during the period. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $18,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 20,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 47,804 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 1st quarter valued at $390,000. Dover Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter valued at $505,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Dbs Bank downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 2.9%

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $52.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.44. 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 has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $139.74. The stock has a market cap of $234.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.63.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released 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 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, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.4119 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.05%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.