Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $30.67 Million Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 268,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,438 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $30,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % 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. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $128.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $128.44 and its 200-day moving average is $128.43. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.