KBC Group NV Has $2.71 Million Stock Position in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,553 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Nordson were worth $2,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Nordson by 86.4% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Nordson in the 1st quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Nordson in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nordson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.00.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NDSN traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $218.79. The company had a trading volume of 228,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,548. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $207.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.65. Nordson Corporation has a 1-year low of $165.03 and a 1-year high of $266.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.89.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Nordson Corporation will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Nordson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.