Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 18,500 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 57.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of Nordson worth $10,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Nordson by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NDSN shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Nordson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $219.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.20.

Nordson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN traded up $0.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $190.36. The stock had a trading volume of 435,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,158. Nordson Co. has a 52 week low of $165.03 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $196.44 and its 200 day moving average is $220.33. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Nordson's payout ratio is 39.69%.

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.