Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Nutrien Ltd. by 21.5%, acquiring an additional 19,555 shares, bringing its total holdings to 110,338 shares worth approximately $5.48 million.
• Nutrien's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.65, exceeding expectations, with revenue slightly down at $10.30 billion compared to the consensus estimate.
• Institutional investors now hold 63.10% of Nutrien's shares, with various firms, including Harbour Investments Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,338 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,555 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Nutrien were worth $5,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blume Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Nutrien by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 5.9% in the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nutrien by 94.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 715 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 16,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Nutrien Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Nutrien stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,801,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,945,388. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $43.69 and a twelve month high of $65.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.91 and a 200-day moving average of $55.38. The stock has a market cap of $27.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.24. Nutrien had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 6.55%. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Nutrien's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Nutrien's payout ratio is presently 78.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NTR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, July 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Nutrien from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial cut Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.65.

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.