Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $3.49 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 99.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,426,594 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $128.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.36 and a 200-day moving average of $142.72.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities 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, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.63.

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.