Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 127,059.1% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,232,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,461,138,000 after purchasing an additional 155,109,984 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Nucor by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,247,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,824 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,725,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,747,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC grew its position in Nucor by 21,987.3% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 528,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,899,000 after acquiring an additional 526,597 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $192.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $190.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.06. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $129.79 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.