Parnassus Investments LLC Grows Position in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 56.0%, acquiring a total of 926,083 shares valued at approximately $64.3 million.
• Novo Nordisk recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97, exceeding analysts' estimates, and had a revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter.
• Equities analysts have recently issued varying ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S, resulting in an overall consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $81.00.

Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 926,083 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 332,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $64,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 184.8% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $56.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $250.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.63. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $45.05 and a 12 month high of $139.74. The business's 50-day moving average is $61.07 and its 200 day moving average is $68.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.69 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.4119 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is currently 22.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. UBS Group downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.

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