Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 368 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $3,481,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $1,230,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 908,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,019,000 after acquiring an additional 22,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $194.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The firm 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%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.67.

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.