Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 15,125 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 392,319 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,125 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Steel Dynamics worth $49,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 25.0% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $188,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,302,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,877,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of STLD stock traded down $2.10 on Thursday, hitting $131.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,496,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.09 and a 200 day moving average of $126.15. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.37.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $1,013,773.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 125,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,950,647.94. The trade was a 5.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total transaction of $168,173.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,971,807.32. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STLD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.00.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.