Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 579 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Nucor were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,481,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Nucor by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 262,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,665,000 after buying an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Nucor by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Nucor by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,932,000 after buying an additional 45,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.38.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $153.98. The company had a trading volume of 249,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,532. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $140.07 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $36.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.45 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.