Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Invests $255,000 in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 0.1 %

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

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.