Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,434 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Nucor worth $17,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 528.6% during 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. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. InvesTrust bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $4,388,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in Nucor by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,455 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,836,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NUE stock traded down $2.30 on Wednesday, hitting $114.55. 1,733,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,080,313. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $120.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.10. 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 results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.