Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Stock Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its position in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 98.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Nordson by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,444 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Nordson by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,553,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nordson by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 123,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NDSN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. BNP Paribas lowered Nordson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Nordson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.17.

Nordson Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NDSN traded up $4.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $223.50. 410,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,518. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $165.03 and a 52-week high of $266.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.55. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.06. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The business had revenue of $682.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.36 million. During the same period 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. 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.