Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,064,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 719,397 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 1.31% of Nucor worth $357,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,255,000 after purchasing an additional 105,309 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nucor by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $284,220,000 after purchasing an additional 384,205 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.4 %

Nucor stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,560,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,267. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $122.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.93. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $176.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.33.

About Nucor

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.