LPL Financial LLC Acquires 57,418 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 23.4%, acquiring a total of 303,121 shares, worth approximately $36.5 million.
• Recent analyst reports have seen target prices for Nucor's stock raised by firms like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, indicating investor confidence with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Nucor has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 39.71%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 23.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,121 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 57,418 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.13% of Nucor worth $36,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE NUE traded down $4.40 on Friday, hitting $138.67. 1,721,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,879,863. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $130.63 and a 200 day moving average of $125.74. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

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.