Argent Trust Co Acquires New Stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Argent Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nordson during the fourth quarter worth about $158,948,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Nordson by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 162,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,024,000 after purchasing an additional 21,016 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Nordson by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Price Performance

NDSN stock opened at $255.58 on Friday. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $208.91 and a 52-week high of $279.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $245.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.04. The stock has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.08. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $656.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This is a positive change from Nordson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nordson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.40.

Nordson Company 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.