Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 93,146 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Nordson worth $1,302,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NDSN. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised 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 acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Nordson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Nordson in the third quarter valued at $109,000. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Performance

NDSN opened at $206.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $213.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.67. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NDSN. KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas cut Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nordson Company 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.