Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Bought by State Street Corp

State Street Corp grew its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 4.87% of Nucor worth $1,724,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 4.1% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd 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. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $3.00 on Friday, hitting $142.57. 1,838,759 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,207. The company's fifty day moving average is $150.67 and its 200 day moving average is $152.61. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Nucor

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.