Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 7.9%, owning approximately 450,666 shares valued at $54.23 million.
• Insider trading activity included EVP Daniel R. Needham and EVP Allen C. Behr selling shares, resulting in a 6.66% and 8.84% decrease in their holdings, respectively.
• Nucor recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, contributing to a 1.6% dividend yield and a 39.71% dividend payout ratio.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450,666 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 32,971 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Nucor worth $54,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nucor by 17.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,853,000 after buying an additional 4,763 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,235,000 after buying an additional 426,949 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 21.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 101,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,210,000 after buying an additional 17,861 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Nucor by 20.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,476,000 after buying an additional 4,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 12.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 305,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,704,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,109 shares of company stock valued at $3,360,094. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $139.11 on Friday. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. The stock's fifty day moving average is $133.57 and its 200-day moving average is $126.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NUE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.13.

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.

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