MML Investors Services LLC Lowers Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

MML Investors Services LLC trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,448 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Nucor by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.75.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE traded down $6.16 on Friday, hitting $125.25. 2,790,702 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,576,326. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.51. 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 Co. has a one year low of $125.00 and a one year high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

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.