Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,655 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 29.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $456,030,000 after acquiring an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,501,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,465,091. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.35. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.60. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Nucor's payout ratio is 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor 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. The trade was a 6.01 % 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 worth $4,773,724 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.