Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 281 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $135.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $125.19 and its 200 day moving average is $140.66. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.