Navellier & Associates Inc. Boosts Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NDSN. State Street Corp increased 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 valued at $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Nordson by 26,109.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,327,000 after acquiring an additional 103,653 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Nordson by 71.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,386,000 after acquiring an additional 65,436 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Nordson by 23.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,499,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Nordson by 10.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after buying an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 6,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,738,159.50. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NDSN. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson reduced 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.33.

Nordson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $215.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 12-month low of $196.83 and a 12-month high of $279.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s 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.