Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 178,733 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.13% of Commercial Metals worth $7,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 21,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 8,342 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 118,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 22,619 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Finally, Covea Finance lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 37,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE CMC traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $58.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,095,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,163. The firm has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.32. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $39.85 and a fifty-two week high of $59.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Commercial Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CMC shares. UBS Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.25.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 142,806 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.89, for a total transaction of $7,124,591.34. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 213,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,645,478.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value of $30,912.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $635,653.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 142,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.89, for a total transaction of $7,124,591.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 213,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,645,478.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,089 shares of company stock valued at $16,383,553. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers.