HighTower Advisors LLC Has $10.16 Million Holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Nordson worth $10,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 695.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Nordson in the third quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nordson in the third quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NDSN opened at $207.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $213.13 and its 200-day moving average is $235.21. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. Equities analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.69%.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price target (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

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.