Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 110.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Nordson by 289.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 260,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,377,000 after purchasing an additional 193,421 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Nordson during the first quarter valued at about $48,044,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Nordson by 237.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 247,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,049,000 after acquiring an additional 174,330 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 26,109.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,327,000 after acquiring an additional 103,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nordson by 10.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 942,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $258,764,000 after purchasing an additional 88,966 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total value of $749,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,164,576.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN opened at $253.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $253.53 and a 200-day moving average of $246.89. 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 1-year low of $219.46 and a 1-year high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $656.49 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 17.75%. Nordson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This is an increase from Nordson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Nordson’s payout ratio is currently 38.00%.

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.