Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.12% of Nucor worth $31,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Aviva PLC increased its position in Nucor by 164.9% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 143,060 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,697,000 after purchasing an additional 89,059 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,213,000. Smith Moore & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 42,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,954,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 14,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $103.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $99.77 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $130.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.36.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.44.

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.