AIA Group Ltd Boosts Stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 504.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,271 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Nordson were worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 16.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,997,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,361,928,000 after purchasing an additional 850,479 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Nordson by 19.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,467,509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $560,322,000 after buying an additional 395,419 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Nordson by 4.1% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,235,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $498,992,000 after buying an additional 88,095 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,391,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $310,534,000 after purchasing an additional 117,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 911,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $226,307,000 after purchasing an additional 60,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Nordson Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:NDSN traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $259.59. 145,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 212,691. Nordson Co. has a twelve month low of $208.90 and a twelve month high of $278.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.84 and a 200 day moving average of $248.61. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $630.77 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 20.59% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Nordson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut Nordson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Nordson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.00.

Nordson 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.