Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 77,198 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lessened its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 259,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 77,198 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.17% of Steel Dynamics worth $29,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $109.21 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The firm has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.97.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on STLD. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.