ING Groep NV Makes New Investment in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NDSN. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Nordson by 130.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 695.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Nordson by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Nordson in the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NDSN. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.33.

Nordson Stock Performance

NDSN stock opened at $215.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 12-month low of $196.83 and a 12-month high of $279.38.

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

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Nordson Profile

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.