Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Purchased by Cambridge Trust Co.

Cambridge Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 150.6% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,488 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NUE opened at $191.36 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. The company has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

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.