Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 152,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,042 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $10,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 301,443.6% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 10,005,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,560,000 after buying an additional 10,001,898 shares in the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.9% during the first quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 9,521,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,202,000 after buying an additional 617,974 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 11.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,692,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,291,000 after buying an additional 576,900 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,543,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,923,000 after buying an additional 202,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth $370,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NVO stock opened at $56.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $254.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.68. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $45.05 and a twelve month high of $120.56.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.51 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 35.60% and a return on equity of 78.64%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4119 per share. This represents a yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.50.

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.