Tortoise Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 73.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nordson were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Nordson by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after buying an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,443,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Nordson by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 510,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,762,000 after purchasing an additional 28,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Nordson by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 459,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas cut Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $206.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $213.29 and its 200 day moving average is $236.31. Nordson Co. has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS 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 return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

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.