Fractal Investments LLC Sells 10,679 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Fractal Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,679 shares during the period. Nucor comprises approximately 0.2% of Fractal Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Fractal Investments LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Nucor by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 23.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,395,000 after purchasing an additional 128,536 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,586,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,052. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

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.