Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Reduces Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 80.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 124,758 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $128.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.47 and a 200 day moving average of $142.21.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’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 value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.63.

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.