Assetmark Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,185 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Steel Dynamics worth $86,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.72. 2,523,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,338,233. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

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.