Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Nucor by 15,470.4% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $190.77 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.