Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Stock Holdings in Nutrien Ltd. $NTR

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, owning 120,250 shares worth approximately $7 million.
• Institutional investors, including Triasima Portfolio Management and Shell Asset Management, also increased their stakes in Nutrien, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 63.10%.
• Nutrien recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.545 per share, yielding 3.6%, to be paid on October 17th to investors of record by September 29th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,250 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,912 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Nutrien were worth $7,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTR. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its holdings in Nutrien by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 154,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Nutrien by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 48,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,800,000 after acquiring an additional 14,842 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Nutrien by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 24,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nutrien during the 2nd quarter valued at $541,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Nutrien by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTR. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nutrien from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Nutrien in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Nutrien from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nutrien in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nutrien presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.39.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.4%

NTR opened at $60.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $29.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52 week low of $43.69 and a 52 week high of $65.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $57.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.12.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.40 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 5.25%.The firm's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.14%.

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.

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