Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,039 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Nordson worth $57,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Nordson by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,302,887,000 after buying an additional 93,146 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Nordson by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,561,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,803,000 after buying an additional 47,052 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nordson by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,455,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,918,000 after buying an additional 12,590 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Nordson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $180,036,000 after buying an additional 24,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Nordson by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 761,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $159,280,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Nordson in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Nordson in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nordson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.00.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.83. 169,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 329,955. The stock has a market cap of $12.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson Corporation has a twelve month low of $165.03 and a twelve month high of $266.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.61.

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

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Nordson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.10%.

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.