Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 764,979 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,012 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.31% of Nucor worth $133,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Nucor by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $3,481,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $1,230,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 871 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 908,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $142,019,000 after purchasing an additional 22,470 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 1.0 %

NUE stock traded down $1.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.12. 1,142,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,383,065. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $129.79 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.66 and a 200-day moving average of $172.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.83.

About Nucor

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.