Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Nordson worth $25,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,916,000 after buying an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nordson by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,443,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,919,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Nordson by 10.5% in 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 during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Nordson by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 330,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,727,000 after purchasing an additional 17,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 23.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,499,000 after purchasing an additional 61,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,703 shares of company stock valued at $374,069. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.25.

Nordson Trading Down 0.1 %

NDSN stock opened at $216.66 on Wednesday. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The company has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $218.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.41.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The business had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Nordson’s payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

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.