Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 127,059.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,232,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,461,138,000 after buying an additional 155,109,984 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Nucor by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,247,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,880,000 after buying an additional 979,824 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $111,725,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $108,747,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 21,987.3% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 528,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,899,000 after purchasing an additional 526,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $192.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.