Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,100 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Nutrien accounts for approximately 0.6% of Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTR. Silchester International Investors LLP raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP now owns 10,683,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,437,000 after buying an additional 6,642,075 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the third quarter worth approximately $150,181,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 78.8% during the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 2,495,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100,000 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 11.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,220,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,830,000 after acquiring an additional 447,413 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 34.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,287,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,848,000 after acquiring an additional 327,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Nutrien from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nutrien from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. CIBC reiterated an “outperformer” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nutrien has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.39.

Nutrien Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NTR opened at $51.29 on Wednesday. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $43.69 and a 52-week high of $60.87. The company has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.939 dividend. This is a boost from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.97%.

Nutrien Company Profile

Nutrien Ltd. provides crop inputs and services. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Potash, Nitrogen, and Phosphate. The Retail segment distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, and merchandise products. The Potash segment provides granular and standard potash products.