Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 5,114 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,027 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,114 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.21% of Nordson worth $32,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NDSN. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Nordson by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,275,693 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Nordson by 16.5% during 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nordson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,078,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Nordson by 258.7% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 878,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $177,900,000 after purchasing an additional 633,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Nordson by 2,094.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 469,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,678,000 after purchasing an additional 448,382 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nordson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Nordson stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $259.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,768. The firm's 50-day moving average is $266.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.25. Nordson Co. has a 52-week low of $208.90 and a 52-week high of $278.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Nordson Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nordson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Nordson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.