Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the first quarter worth $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Nucor by 2,410.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $40,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $192.12 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.89 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.83.

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.