Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,245 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,696 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $4,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVO. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,094 shares of the company's stock worth $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indie Asset Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO traded up $3.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.27. The stock had a trading volume of 13,447,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,216,062. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $57.00 and a twelve month high of $148.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase 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.