Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $74.01 Million Investment in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 353,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $74,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.62% of Nordson at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Nordson by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Nordson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its stake in Nordson by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nordson from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $237.00 price objective (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 owns 7,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nordson Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDSN traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $204.75. 325,300 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,804. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $213.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.09. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Nordson's payout ratio is 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.