Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Nordson by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Nordson by 695.0% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Nordson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at about $179,000. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NDSN. BNP Paribas cut 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. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong 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 $256.20.

Nordson Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDSN opened at $207.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.21. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.