National Bank of Canada FI Trims Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,367 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Nordson were worth $5,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Nordson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Nordson by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Nordson by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 35,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Trading Down 5.2 %

NDSN stock opened at $176.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $172.50 and a one year high of $279.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.04.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. As a group, analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NDSN shares. Baird R W lowered Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.