Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $59.32 and last traded at $61.12, with a volume of 9969565 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVO. StockNews.com upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 6.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.98. The company has a market capitalization of $274.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVO. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $158,657,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently 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.