Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Stock Holdings Lessened by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Nordson were worth $3,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after purchasing an additional 177,282 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 103,653 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 65,436 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 23.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,499,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN opened at $217.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $214.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.12. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. Analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NDSN. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.25.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,703 shares of company stock valued at $374,069. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.