Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Purchases 7,507 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,539 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 7,507 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $398,077,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 17,785.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,867,000 after purchasing an additional 502,961 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Nucor by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after purchasing an additional 474,274 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 528.6% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,235,000 after purchasing an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Nucor by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $284,220,000 after buying an additional 384,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.56.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE traded up $2.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $130.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,836,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,707,901. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.35.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 39.15%.

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.