Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 13,184 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 295,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Nordson worth $77,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nordson in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordson by 70.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Nordson by 130.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Nordson in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Nordson by 2,387.5% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.00.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN stock opened at $209.73 on Friday. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $207.15 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.18.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its 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 return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Nordson’s payout ratio is 38.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total value of $749,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,164,576.82. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,629 shares of company stock worth $914,400. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.