Invesco Ltd. Reduces Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Invesco Ltd. decreased its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 900,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,780 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.58% of Nordson worth $188,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 695.0% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Nordson by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NDSN opened at $185.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $165.03 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.59.

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). The company had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NDSN. BNP Paribas cut shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.20.

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.