Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 1,716 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,716 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Nordson were worth $3,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Nordson by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 11,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 7,323 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 240,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,390,000 after purchasing an additional 35,325 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Nordson during the 4th quarter worth about $587,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Nordson during the 4th quarter worth about $496,000. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NDSN shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.20.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $201.13 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.25. Nordson Co. has a twelve month low of $165.03 and a twelve month high of $275.80. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.90.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its earnings results 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). Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Nordson 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.