Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. decreased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Nucor by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after buying an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $428,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,612,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,381,000 after purchasing an additional 45,467 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in Nucor by 329.7% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 68,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,283,000 after purchasing an additional 52,483 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $154.77 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $133.42 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

About Nucor

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.