Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $27,000 in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 70.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Nordson in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Nordson in the 1st quarter worth $55,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Nordson by 2,387.5% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Nordson during the first quarter valued at $58,000. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Stock Up 0.7 %

NDSN stock opened at $255.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $243.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.01. Nordson Co. has a 12 month low of $208.91 and a 12 month high of $279.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $656.49 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Nordson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Nordson from $315.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nordson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.40.

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.