Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Acquired by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 6.6% in the second quarter, holding approximately 0.11% of the company valued at $31.98 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Nucor's stock rating, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.
• Nucor recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 39.71%.

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,846 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 15,375 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Nucor worth $31,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NUE opened at $141.47 on Friday. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. The company has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share 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%.The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.