Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 1.5% Higher - Time to Buy?

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) traded up 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.49 and last traded at $66.12. 4,544,967 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 6,140,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVO. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Dbs Bank cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. Research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company's stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,066,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

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.