Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nordson were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Nordson by 6.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 17.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 22.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 3.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nordson during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.00.

Nordson Stock Performance

Nordson stock opened at $249.86 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.60. 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 fifty-two week low of $222.18 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The company has a market capitalization of $14.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.90.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total transaction of $749,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,164,576.82. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total transaction of $59,010.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at $862,081.49. This trade represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.