Washington Capital Management Inc. Takes $323,000 Position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nordson by 34.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,290 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Nordson by 26.0% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,185 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Nordson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,553,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,963 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NDSN stock traded down $4.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $219.28. 498,080 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,254. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $193.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.55. Nordson Co. has a 12-month low of $165.03 and a 12-month high of $266.86. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $682.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Nordson's payout ratio is 40.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Nordson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Nordson from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of 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. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Nordson from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.17.

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.