Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Holdings Lifted by Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. owned 0.31% of Nordson worth $36,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 7.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 177,282 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 10.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 510,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,762,000 after purchasing an additional 28,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 459,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $204.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $213.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.09. The firm has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued 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). Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The firm had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 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, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NDSN shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.20.

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.