Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: Novo Nordisk has a strong history of raising its dividend. I own it now, but would like your advice on how the future looks.

Article Excerpt

Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR), $142.29, symbol NVO on New York (Shares outstanding: 452.5 million; Market cap: $64.4 billion; www.novonordisk.com), is a major Denmark-based producer of diabetes-care products, including insulin. It also makes products for hormone replacement therapy and treating coagulation disorders. The company controls 50% of the global insulin market. It gets 40% of its sales from North America, followed by the European Union, 29%; Japan and Korea, 9%; China, 8%; and other regions, 14%. Novo’s shares have moved up since late last year on higher profits and sales. The company’s earnings should continue to increase this year. That’s partly because of higher sales at the Diabetes Care division thanks to the success of its newest product, Victoza, a once-daily treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Victoza’s sales more than doubled last year, to just over $1 billion, making it responsible for 55% of Novo’s overall sales growth. The company launched Victoza in China in the fourth quarter of 2011. Novo also has a number…