Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,146 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.91% of Nordson worth $1,302,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 13.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,533,000 after buying an additional 20,217 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Nordson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,138,000 after acquiring an additional 48,720 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 113.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 29,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,661,000 after acquiring an additional 15,524 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordson by 47.5% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,553,000. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN opened at $206.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 52 week low of $196.83 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The firm had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. On average, analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NDSN shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.