Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases 12,819 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 89.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,819 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $3,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NUE. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.63.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NUE traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.80. 927,481 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,464,821. The stock has a market cap of $30.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Nucor Company 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.