Pricing pressures on hospitals have led them to crack down on outside purchases, with many turning to bulk orders to cut costs and increase volume. Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) agreed to buy Covidien Plc in June in an agreement deal that was also intended to broaden offerings to hospitals. Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) in last trading activity moved up 0.72% to close at $64.11. Company weekly performance is -1.40% while its quarterly performance stands at 0.61%. Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) is -3.99% away from its 52 week high.Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) VP David B. Fischer sold 36,000 shares of Facebook stock on the open market in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total transaction of $2,756,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 311,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,859,212. On last trading day Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) decreased -3.95% to close at $72.91. Its volatility for the week is 2.95% while volatility for the month is 2.53%. FB's sales growth for past 5 years was 96.00% and its EPS growth for past 5 years was 85.60%. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) monthly performance is -6.43%.Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) reported a 0.2% year-over-year rise in its comparable-store sales (comps) for the month of September 2014. However, it compared unfavorably to an increase of 2.8% in the year-ago period due to ongoing headwinds in the retail environment. On last trading day Fred's, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) moved up 5.31% to close at $13.88. Its volatility for the week is 4.50% while volatility for the month is 3.06%. FRED's sales growth for past 5 years was 1.50% and its EPS growth for past 5 years was 11.10%. Fred's, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) monthly performance is -9.64%.Strattec Security Corp. (NASDAQ:STRT), a $284.1 million market cap producer of mechanical locks, electronically enhanced locks and keys. According to the filing, Royce & Associates boosted its holdings in the company by 154%, and now owns 383,792 shares of Common Stock. Also increasing its wage on Strattec Security Corp. (NASDAQ:STRT) is Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors (et AL). The funds affiliated to Mr. Gabelli disclosed, around mid-September, ownership of 476,922 shares of Common Stock, up from 285,834 shares held by the end of the second quarter. STRATTEC Security Corporation (NASDAQ:STRT) has 2.80% insider ownership while its institutional ownership stands at 77.20%. In last trading activity company's stock closed at $77.80.Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) announced that it has closed on its purchase of all the equity of Gallatin Steel Company for approximately USD 770 million. Mr John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO and President of Nucor Corporation said that "We are pleased to welcome the Gallatin team to the Nucor family. This addition will allow us to better serve our customers by offering them a wider range of products and further enhancing our reliability." On Friday shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) closed at $48.71. Company's sales growth for last 5 years was -4.20% and EPS growth for next 5 years is recorded as 34.46%.
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