Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Cuts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 30,863 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Nucor were worth $7,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,248,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Nucor by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,348 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 47,294 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,110,000 after purchasing an additional 30,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $271,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $128.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.62. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 over the last three months. Corporate 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NUE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.