Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $77.52 and last traded at $77.89, with a volume of 2180674 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $339.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.39 and its 200 day moving average is $103.83.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after acquiring an additional 80,070 shares in the last quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 19,870 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.