SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,653 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Nordson were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 130.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Nordson during the third quarter valued at $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Nordson by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Nordson by 18.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Nordson by 695.0% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $217.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.75. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of 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. Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.25.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total transaction of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,081.49. This trade represents a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock valued at $433,080 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.86% 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.