Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Stake Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 576,666 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,220 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Nucor worth $69,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,111,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.6% during the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 10,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.00.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.51. 1,029,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,238,877. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.34. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the business'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 owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,326 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,108 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Company 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.