Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 1,000 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 19.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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 worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,612,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $242,381,000 after acquiring an additional 45,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $130.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.