Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Acquires Shares of 54,396 Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired 54,396 shares of Novo Nordisk A/S valued at approximately $3.8 million in the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Despite robust earnings of $0.97 per share for the quarter, Novo Nordisk A/S's stock has faced a downgrade from several analysts, with BMO Capital Markets lowering its target price from $105.00 to $64.00.
• Novo Nordisk A/S will pay a semi-annual dividend of $0.4119 on August 26th, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 45.05% and a significant yield of 240.0% for investors of record.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 54,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,777,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 184.8% during the first 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. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. HSBC cut 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 note on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.67.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NVO traded up $2.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.06. 23,312,357 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,928,642. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $45.05 and a 1 year high of $139.74. The firm's fifty day moving average is $67.14 and its 200-day moving average is $71.54. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.63.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.51 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.4119 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.05%.

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.