Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,136 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 38,949 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Nucor were worth $10,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Nucor by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,851,000 after buying an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $106,395,000 after purchasing an additional 128,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NUE. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NUE stock traded up $3.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,041,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,711. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.65. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $189.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.86.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued 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 yield of 1.24%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.