Swiss National Bank Sells 29,700 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 777,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $135,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,395,000 after purchasing an additional 128,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $173.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $189.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.86. The firm has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor 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.