Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $4.14 Million Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,543 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $155.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.37. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $140.07 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.