Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Nordson were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Nordson by 422.8% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 38,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,196 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Nordson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in Nordson by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 193,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,399,000 after purchasing an additional 35,494 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NDSN. BNP Paribas downgraded Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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. Baird R W cut shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $207.58 on Tuesday. Nordson Co. has a 52 week low of $196.83 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $213.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.31. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.69%.

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.