Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 1,540 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Nucor in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 208.0% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $143.59 on Monday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

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.