Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 110.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,164 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,012 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVO. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 200.0% in the second quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE:NVO opened at $117.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $525.92 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $90.50 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $9.82 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

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

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.