Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $39.47 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 226,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,952 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $39,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after buying an additional 159,230 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Nucor by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after buying an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,395,000 after acquiring an additional 128,536 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 2.0 %

NUE opened at $173.92 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $189.15 and its 200 day moving average is $175.21.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’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 directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor 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.