Rhumbline Advisers Sells 1,844 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.18% of Nordson worth $21,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 13.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,533,000 after buying an additional 20,217 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Nordson by 10.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $135,138,000 after acquiring an additional 48,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position 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 worth $84,499,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Nordson by 113.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 29,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,661,000 after acquiring an additional 15,524 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in Nordson by 47.5% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,703 shares of company stock valued at $374,069 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective 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. DA Davidson lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.25.

Nordson Price Performance

Nordson stock traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $215.44. 350,941 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 342,595. The company's fifty day moving average is $214.07 and its 200-day moving average is $238.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.95. Nordson Co. has a 52 week low of $196.83 and a 52 week high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 19.31% and a net margin of 16.93%. The company had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $639.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Nordson's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.