Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Nordson were worth $110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nordson by 13.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,533,000 after purchasing an additional 20,217 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nordson by 47.5% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter worth about $4,553,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nordson by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 295,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,723,000 after buying an additional 13,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $176.73 on Friday. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $173.36 and a 52-week high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NDSN. DA Davidson lowered 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. KeyCorp raised Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas downgraded Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Baird R W cut shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nordson Company 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.