Lafayette Investments Inc. Raises Stake in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 579.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,725 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $3,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 22,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 4,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NVO stock opened at $55.78 on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $45.05 and a 1 year high of $117.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.64. The company has a market cap of $249.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.68.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.51 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%. Research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4119 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 22.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NVO shares. Zacks Research upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.