Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 90 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Nucor were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $122.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.34.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.