Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nordson were worth $2,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nordson by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,841,000 after buying an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nordson by 4.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 295,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,723,000 after acquiring an additional 13,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $185.56 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 $165.03 and a 12-month high of $279.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $204.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.35. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. Analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas lowered Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.20.

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.