Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 3,672 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $11,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 29.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,030,000 after purchasing an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,829,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 14,525.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 326,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,144,000 after buying an additional 324,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.50.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $142.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.74. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor 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.