Meitav Investment House Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 449,302 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,954 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $46,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Pacific Center for Financial Services boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 270 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 79.9% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 286 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the third quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 300 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 292 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NVO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NVO stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,417,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,012,924. The stock has a market cap of $562.74 billion, a PE ratio of 46.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $125.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.38. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $75.56 and a fifty-two week high of $138.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.14 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.664 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.