Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Has $280,000 Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:NUE traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 530,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,409,394. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.79 and a 200-day moving average of $142.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

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, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

About Nucor

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.