Vest Financial LLC Has $54.39 Million Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 207,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 38,825 shares during the quarter. Nordson comprises approximately 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Nordson were worth $54,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Nordson by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Nordson by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 330,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,727,000 after purchasing an additional 17,732 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Nordson by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Nordson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $260,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 535.3% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 16,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,357,000 after buying an additional 13,977 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $257.17. The stock had a trading volume of 246,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,066. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.29 and a 200-day moving average of $248.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.36. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $208.91 and a one year high of $279.38. The stock has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.90.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $656.49 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Nordson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total transaction of $749,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,164,576.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nordson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.00.

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.