Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $4.47 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,655 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 150.6% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Nucor by 106.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,328,000 after buying an additional 18,488 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nucor 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $192.78 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.20. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.89 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.