Sapient Capital LLC Sells 617 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Nucor by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after buying an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Nucor by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after buying an additional 159,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $377,631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $261,041,000 after buying an additional 36,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $6.71 on Tuesday, hitting $168.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,177,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,447,176. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $190.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.94. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Nucor 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.