Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Shares Acquired by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 307,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.54% of Nordson worth $64,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDSN. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Nordson by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 695.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Nordson during the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordson during the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $215.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.98. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird reissued 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. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.