Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV reduced its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 194,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,011 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $16,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company's stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 86.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 28,999 shares of the company's stock worth $3,453,000 after buying an additional 13,437 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 17.2% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 28,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,353,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth $86,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $69.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,798,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,227,573. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $71.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.57. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $57.00 and a twelve month high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

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.