Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Down 1.1%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $122.55 and last traded at $123.11. Approximately 1,012,400 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 4,852,989 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $550.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $126.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. Analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 8,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 18,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.