Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 8,530.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Nucor accounts for about 0.6% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned 0.67% of Nucor worth $239,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 769.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

NUE traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,519,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,564. The firm has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.96. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.57.

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.