Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $3.49 Million Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 99.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,426,594 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $128.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.36 and a 200-day moving average of $142.72.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

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.