abrdn plc Makes New $23.55 Million Investment in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

abrdn plc bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 227,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,549,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Center for Financial Services lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. CNB Bank acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $128.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $126.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $577.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.41. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $75.56 and a 52 week high of $138.28.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. Equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.664 per share. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVO. UBS Group began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S 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.