Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 7,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value 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 $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NUE opened at $126.88 on Thursday. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $29.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.79 and a 200 day moving average of $142.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.