KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Trims Stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,520 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 48,500 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Nucor were worth $9,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 11.7% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 11,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 11.9% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 49.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Nucor by 3.3% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 18,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,175,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 819.9% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 19,539 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,326 shares of company stock worth $6,325,108 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.75.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $144.62. 738,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,552,157. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.06. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.15%.

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.