Avalon Trust Co Raises Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,061 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $77.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $346.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $73.80 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.95 and a 200-day moving average of $103.01.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

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.