First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Nordson Corporation $NDSN

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 18.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 231,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51,180 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Nordson were worth $49,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. XXEC Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 105.8% during the 2nd quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 36,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,724,000 after purchasing an additional 18,521 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordson during the second quarter valued at about $480,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 314.9% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 8,268 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Nordson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nordson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $139,218,000. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $234.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.43 and a 200 day moving average of $223.34. Nordson Corporation has a 52 week low of $165.03 and a 52 week high of $258.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter. Nordson had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The business had revenue of $646.86 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Nordson Corporation will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nordson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Nordson in a report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson set a $285.00 price target on shares of Nordson in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Nordson from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.75.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other Nordson news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 2,200 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $528,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,200. The trade was a 25.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James E. Devries sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.60, for a total value of $2,125,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,965,692.80. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,600 shares of company stock worth $3,188,257. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.