Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Stock Holdings Increased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 178,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,354 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $37,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NDSN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Nordson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,302,887,000 after buying an additional 93,146 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,443,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nordson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $142,670,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Nordson by 10.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Performance

Nordson stock opened at $200.46 on Friday. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Nordson’s payout ratio is presently 39.69%.

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.