Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 151.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,100 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Nordson worth $8,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Nordson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,302,887,000 after buying an additional 93,146 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 120,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,302,000 after buying an additional 19,525 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Nordson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,808,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Nordson by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,881,000 after acquiring an additional 10,435 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

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Nordson Trading Down 5.2 %

NDSN traded down $9.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $176.73. 707,519 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,054. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $173.36 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The firm has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. As a group, analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NDSN. KeyCorp raised Nordson from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Nordson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.20.

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.