Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Insider Selling

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $203.10 and last traded at $203.56, with a volume of 13719 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.43.

Specifically, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird reiterated 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. Finally, Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.00.

Nordson Trading Down 1.7 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.10. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. Nordson’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 289.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 260,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,377,000 after acquiring an additional 193,421 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Nordson by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,916,000 after purchasing an additional 177,282 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 26,109.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,653 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordson by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $601,032,000 after buying an additional 68,810 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,386,000 after buying an additional 65,436 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.