Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nordson were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NDSN. State Street Corp increased its stake in Nordson by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after purchasing an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 26,109.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,653 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 71.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 65,436 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Nordson by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,499,000 after purchasing an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was 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. 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.25.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN stock opened at $212.80 on Tuesday. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $196.83 and a 52-week high of $279.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.75. 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 has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Equities research analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.