Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,091 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Nucor were worth $14,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NUE stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.34. 304,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,492,807. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.85. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its 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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.