MML Investors Services LLC Has $4.86 Million Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,448 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NUE shares. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 4.7 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $125.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $125.00 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

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.