Strs Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.07% of Nordson worth $10,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NDSN. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Nordson by 2.2% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 3.6% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Nordson by 3.0% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Nordson by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Nordson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Nordson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN opened at $260.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.19. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $208.90 and a 1 year high of $278.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.89 and a 200-day moving average of $248.53. The company has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.00.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.18. Nordson had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.59%. The firm had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $630.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Nordson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Nordson’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.