Mather Group LLC. Sells 740 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mather Group LLC. cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $133.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.