Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 249,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,159 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for about 1.7% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $25,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 23,419,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,129,761,000 after buying an additional 11,727,507 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $718,995,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 122.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,077,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,098,328,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654,614 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 96.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,215,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,021,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,199 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 91.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 9,097,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,350,862 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO stock traded up $1.58 on Friday, reaching $127.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,346,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,785,250. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $75.56 and a 1 year high of $138.28. The company has a market capitalization of $571.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 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.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 36.03% and a return on equity of 90.36%. Analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 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 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid 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 was Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.