Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 34,519 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 279,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,519 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Nucor worth $33,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 73.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,326 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,108 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.00.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE traded up $2.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,974,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,669,314. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.69. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. Nucor's revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.