Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Acquires 3,291 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $5,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares during the period. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 19,870 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $4,066,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NVO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE NVO opened at $77.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $77.82 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.65 and a 200-day moving average of $109.54.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 21.88%.

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.