Welch Group LLC Invests $247,000 in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Welch Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,857,000 after purchasing an additional 823,036 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,254,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,242,000 after acquiring an additional 58,935 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151,584 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,526,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,939,000 after acquiring an additional 36,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,373,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,697,000 after purchasing an additional 172,003 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.0 %

NVO traded down $1.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $112.19. The company had a trading volume of 922,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,271,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $94.73 and a 1-year high of $148.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.61 and a 200-day moving average of $131.37. The company has a market cap of $503.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.91 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 24.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $160.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.50.

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.