St. Clair Advisors LLC Invests $1.94 Million in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN)

St. Clair Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,944,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter worth $142,670,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Nordson during the 4th quarter worth $74,005,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Nordson by 676.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 246,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,539,000 after buying an additional 214,594 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Nordson by 19,089.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 141,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,606,000 after buying an additional 141,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordson by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 693,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $145,135,000 after acquiring an additional 111,538 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised Nordson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on Nordson in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Nordson in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.00.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $215.12. 510,824 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,131. The company's fifty day moving average is $202.82 and its 200 day moving average is $206.01. Nordson Corporation has a 1-year low of $165.03 and a 1-year high of $266.86. The company has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.06. Nordson had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $682.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nordson Corporation will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Nordson's payout ratio is 40.10%.

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.