EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $9.40 Million Position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 37.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,844 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,982 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $9,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.2% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 59,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,494,000 after acquiring an additional 5,510 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 448,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,024,000 after purchasing an additional 24,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 255.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 318,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,474,000 after buying an additional 228,889 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $119.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average of $132.87. The company has a market capitalization of $534.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.05, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $86.96 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 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 Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.5126 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus boosted their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.17.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.