State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Trims Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,496,294 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 65,505 shares during the quarter. Nucor accounts for about 2.6% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned approximately 10.43% of Nucor worth $2,858,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in Nucor by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.0% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $3.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.98. 786,032 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,974,746. The firm has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.96. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently 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.