Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $3.58 Million Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 23.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,630 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Nordson were worth $3,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Nordson by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,122,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,680,769,000 after acquiring an additional 52,443 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $601,032,000 after buying an additional 68,810 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 942,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $258,764,000 after buying an additional 88,966 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Nordson by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 601,984 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $139,624,000 after buying an additional 15,947 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Nordson by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,689,000 after buying an additional 11,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $299.00.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NDSN traded up $2.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $253.19. The stock had a trading volume of 227,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,071. The company's fifty day moving average is $249.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Nordson Co. has a 52 week low of $208.91 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.90.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.08. Nordson had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $661.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $656.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Nordson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Nordson's dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

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.