Larson Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Larson Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 78.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,928 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in Nucor by 14.0% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 209,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,560,000 after purchasing an additional 25,744 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Nucor by 52.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $428,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,612,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,381,000 after purchasing an additional 45,467 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.69. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

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.