Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

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

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Nordson by 1.5% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Nordson by 18.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Nordson by 3.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in Nordson by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDSN opened at $212.80 on Tuesday. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The firm has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.75.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NDSN shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Baird R W lowered Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas lowered Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nordson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.25.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.75, for a total value of $82,657.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,159.50. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.