Allstate Corp Takes Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,642 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDSN. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Nordson by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NDSN shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp raised Nordson from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital upgraded Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Nordson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

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Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nordson Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NDSN stock traded down $9.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.73. 707,519 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,054. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $173.24 and a 52-week high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G 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. The stock's fifty day moving average is $210.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.39.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. Equities analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

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.