Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Stock Holdings Increased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Nordson were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 1.5% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 18.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 3.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Nordson by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NDSN shares. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price objective (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $82,657.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,159.50. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $212.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.75. 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 (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. Analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

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.