Markel Group Inc. Boosts Position in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,258,588 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,588 shares during the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S makes up 1.3% of Markel Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Novo Nordisk A/S worth $155,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Disciplina Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 162.3% in the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVO. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $51.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.23. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $45.05 and a 12 month high of $113.76.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 EPS 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 return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.53%.

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.