Asset Dedication LLC Has $122,000 Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Asset Dedication LLC decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 85.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,384 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.63.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE NUE opened at $128.69 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.72. The company has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

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.