Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,394 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.09% of Nucor worth $23,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during 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. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NUE. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $128.69 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $129.36 and its 200-day moving average is $142.72. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Nucor Company 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.

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