Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Stake Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,945 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,949 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.19% of Nordson worth $22,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NDSN. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Nordson in the fourth quarter worth about $74,005,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nordson by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,302,887,000 after acquiring an additional 93,146 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 193,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,399,000 after purchasing an additional 35,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.11% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NDSN. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 research report on Monday, February 24th. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN traded down $9.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $176.73. The company had a trading volume of 707,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,054. The firm's fifty day moving average is $210.54 and its 200 day moving average is $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96. Nordson Co. has a twelve month low of $173.24 and a twelve month high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In other Nordson 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.