AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $14.36 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,524 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.05% of Nucor worth $14,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $122.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.