Crown Oak Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Crown Oak Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the quarter. Nordson makes up 4.1% of Crown Oak Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Crown Oak Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Nordson worth $7,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Nordson by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 26,109.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,653 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 71.0% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 65,436 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 valued at $84,499,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 437.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 62,502 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,497,000 after buying an additional 50,877 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total transaction of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,081.49. The trade was a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.25.

Nordson Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NDSN traded down $1.42 on Friday, reaching $218.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 302,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,322. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a twelve month low of $196.83 and a twelve month high of $279.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $228.28 and a 200-day moving average of $241.91.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Nordson 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.