Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $203.10 and last traded at $203.56, with a volume of 13719 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.43.

Specifically, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NDSN. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price objective (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.00.

Nordson Trading Down 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $237.86 and its 200 day moving average is $243.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $744.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.83 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. Nordson’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

Institutional Trading of Nordson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.5% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 18.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Nordson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

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.