KBC Group NV Has $29.28 Million Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

KBC Group NV cut its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 250,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,980 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Nucor were worth $29,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $162,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its position in Nucor by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its holdings in Nucor by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 7,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Nucor by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

Nucor Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.