Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Stake in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Nordson worth $25,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDSN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,670,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Nordson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,005,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nordson by 676.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 246,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,539,000 after purchasing an additional 214,594 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 19,089.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 141,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,606,000 after purchasing an additional 141,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position 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 worth $145,135,000 after purchasing an additional 111,538 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NDSN shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Nordson in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nordson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.00.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.83. The stock had a trading volume of 169,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,360. Nordson Corporation has a 1-year low of $165.03 and a 1-year high of $266.86. The firm has a market cap of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $206.44 and its 200-day moving average is $205.66.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $682.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Nordson's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Nordson Corporation will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Nordson's dividend payout ratio 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.