Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 300 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $3,481,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,592 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Nucor by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,932,000 after acquiring an additional 45,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock traded down $2.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $171.02. 1,541,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,439,901. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.65. 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 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.