APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 5,279 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

APG Asset Management N.V. trimmed its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 64.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,279 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $120.41 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.