AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 8,135 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,135 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,109,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 6,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 987.2% during the fourth quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,983 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,235,000 after purchasing an additional 426,949 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.33.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $115.30. 1,715,212 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,431. The firm has a market cap of $26.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.42. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $176.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

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.