Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 1.7%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $125.08 and last traded at $124.81. 1,292,534 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 4,836,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $163.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $561.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.664 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is 49.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 23,419,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,129,761,000 after buying an additional 11,727,507 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 122.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,077,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,098,328,000 after buying an additional 6,654,614 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,215,098 shares of the company's stock worth $838,021,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,199 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 91.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 9,097,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $827,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,350,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Folketrygdfondet raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% during the first quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,756,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,124,275,000 after purchasing an additional 124,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.