Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 358,721 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.75% of Nucor worth $205,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NUE traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $121.41. 2,223,088 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,296,970. The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.58. 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, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. 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 1.81%. Nucor's 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.