GPM Growth Investors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,615 shares during the quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $2,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at $74,005,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Nordson by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,297,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in Nordson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,678,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 459,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nordson Price Performance

Nordson stock opened at $210.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.61. The company has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NDSN shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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, KeyCorp raised Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

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.