Allstate Corp Makes New $344,000 Investment in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Nordson by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nordson by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the business’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 $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NDSN. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN opened at $203.35 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. Nordson Co. has a 12 month low of $196.83 and a 12 month high of $279.38.

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

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Nordson’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

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.