Southern Style Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Southern Style Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000. Nordson accounts for about 0.3% of Southern Style Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 66.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Nordson during the 2nd quarter valued at $613,000. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 157.0% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordson in the 2nd quarter worth $872,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,373,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,081.49. The trade was a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $268,620.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nordson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.25.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NDSN opened at $220.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $227.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.92. Nordson Co. has a 1-year low of $196.83 and a 1-year high of $279.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

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.