American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 317,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 145,593 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $66,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nordson by 13.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,533,000 after buying an additional 20,217 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Nordson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Nordson by 113.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 29,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,661,000 after purchasing an additional 15,524 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nordson by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter worth $4,553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NDSN. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $205.93 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $213.59 and its 200 day moving average is $233.04. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $196.83 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The company had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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.