Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 3,774 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,783 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,774 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $4,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Nutrien in the 4th quarter valued at $791,000. Cadence Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nutrien by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 4,782 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Nutrien by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 6,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Nutrien by 380.9% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 96,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,000 after acquiring an additional 76,369 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NTR opened at $52.35 on Thursday. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $43.70 and a twelve month high of $60.87. The stock has a market cap of $25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.50 and its 200-day moving average is $48.76.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.09). Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTR shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Nutrien from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Nutrien in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Nutrien from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Nutrien from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.13.

Nutrien 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.