Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 422.8% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 38,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,196 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Nordson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 193,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,399,000 after acquiring an additional 35,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NDSN. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price objective (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas lowered 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 raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.20.

Nordson Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDSN opened at $203.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $213.54 and its 200-day moving average is $233.82.

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

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.69%.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently 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.