United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $1.12 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 0.1 %

NUE opened at $122.19 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.66 and a 200-day moving average of $143.41. The company has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

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.