Huntington National Bank Lowers Stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Huntington National Bank lessened its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Nordson were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NDSN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,670,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Nordson in the 4th quarter worth $74,005,000. State Street Corp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 177,282 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nordson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,302,887,000 after purchasing an additional 93,146 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 397,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,262,000 after purchasing an additional 76,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NDSN opened at $176.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $173.36 and a 52-week high of $279.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million during 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 analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W lowered Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.20.

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.