Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 3,101 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd has increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 9.5%, now holding 35,764 shares worth approximately $4.63 million.
• Insider transactions reveal significant sales, with Michael D. Keller and Kenneth Rex Query selling shares that represent substantial decreases in their ownership positions.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Nucor, with the average target now at $156.20, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,101 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,763 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 101,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,210,000 after acquiring an additional 17,861 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Nucor by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 305,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,704,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.20.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $135.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,118,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,359,260. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company's 50-day moving average is $142.95 and its 200-day moving average is $128.58. The company has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.Nucor's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. On average, equities 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, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,464 shares in the company, valued at $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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.