Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 110,581 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 98.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 110,581 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Nordson were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Nordson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nordson by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 123,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter worth $372,000. Ossiam raised its holdings in Nordson by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 5,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Nordson by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NDSN shares. 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 note on Friday, May 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Nordson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $219.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.17.

Nordson Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NDSN opened at $214.76 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.64 and its 200 day moving average is $210.36. Nordson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $165.03 and a fifty-two week high of $266.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.06. Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The firm had revenue of $682.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

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

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