GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,970 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 63,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $13,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nordson by 1.0% in the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Nordson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,138,000 after acquiring an additional 48,720 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Nordson by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 330,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,727,000 after acquiring an additional 17,732 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,499,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NDSN shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price objective (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note 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, Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.25.

Nordson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $215.55 on Thursday. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.21 and its 200 day moving average is $240.99.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Nordson’s payout ratio is 38.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at $862,081.49. This trade represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.75, for a total transaction of $82,657.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,159.50. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Nordson 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.