Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVO. Roundview Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 18,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,035,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571,747 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,131,000 after acquiring an additional 6,903 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 107,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15,996 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,778,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,836,222. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $75.56 and a 1 year high of $138.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $555.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.62, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Analysts anticipate 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 announced 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 is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.60.

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.