Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Nucor by 17.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 4,763 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Nucor by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,235,000 after acquiring an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Nucor by 21.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 101,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,210,000 after acquiring an additional 17,861 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Nucor by 20.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Nucor by 48.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,326 shares of company stock worth $6,325,108. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.00.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $137.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $120.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 39.15%.

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.