Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.8%, owning 128,391 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million after acquiring an additional 55,358 shares during the quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including North Star Investment Management Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., also adjusted their holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S, demonstrating growing institutional interest.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from "strong-buy" to "hold" ratings, with an average price target of $93.67 after recent reports from firms such as BMO Capital Markets and Guggenheim.

Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 75.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,391 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,358 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $8,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVO. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 47,804 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter worth $390,000. Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 1st quarter valued at about $505,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HSBC lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.67.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 2.5%

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $48.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $215.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.63. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $46.90 and a 52 week high of $139.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92. The business had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.52% and a return on equity of 80.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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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