Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 8,656 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,707 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 8,656 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Steel Dynamics worth $10,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 4,195 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,417,000. Point72 Italy S.r.l. bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,005,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 11,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 5.9 %

NASDAQ STLD traded down $6.85 on Friday, hitting $109.21. 2,180,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,466,900. The company's 50-day moving average price is $128.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.