MU Investments Co. Ltd. Lowers Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

MU Investments Co. Ltd. cut its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Nucor comprises about 4.7% of MU Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. MU Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 127,059.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,232,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,461,138,000 after purchasing an additional 155,109,984 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 391.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,005,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,162 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Nucor by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,727,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,657 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Nucor by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,247,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,880,000 after acquiring an additional 979,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 90.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,863,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $287,829,000 after acquiring an additional 883,121 shares during the last quarter. 77.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $2.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $157.27. The stock had a trading volume of 441,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,488. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $102.86 and a 12 month high of $182.68. The company has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.85 and its 200 day moving average is $155.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.22. Nucor had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $9.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 18.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.54, for a total transaction of $1,705,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 84,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,371,917.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,190,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,127,170. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.54, for a total value of $1,705,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,273 shares in the company, valued at $14,371,917.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,584,084 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Nucor from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 1st. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on Nucor from $156.00 to $167.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $191.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.00.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. The company's 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 products; and bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products.