Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 200 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $121.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.10. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. 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%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on 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 directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.63.

Nucor 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.