New Century Financial Group LLC Purchases 224 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,954 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 11,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 7,565 shares in the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.3% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 28,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,636,000 after buying an additional 15,525 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 453.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 265,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,095,000 after buying an additional 217,545 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,624,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 41,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after acquiring an additional 14,731 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO stock opened at $117.33 on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $92.94 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.46, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.67.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.5126 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 24.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.