Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 22,210 Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 80.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,210 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $51,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total transaction of $2,066,547.52. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 36,196 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,024.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 119,489 shares of company stock worth $6,371,781 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CMC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC stock opened at $53.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $39.85 and a 12-month high of $59.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.32.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 17.72%. Commercial Metals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Commercial Metals Profile

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers.