Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 9% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) fell 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $78.30 and last traded at $79.31. 6,031,872 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,326,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 9.5 %

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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,955 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after acquiring an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company 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.