Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 193,568 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,430,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193,568 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $108,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,022,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,202,000 after buying an additional 702,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nutrien by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 394,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,620,000 after buying an additional 54,481 shares during the period. Colrain Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at $3,863,000. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,189,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Nutrien by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,519,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 122,453 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Down 6.4 %

NTR opened at $47.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.08. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $43.70 and a twelve month high of $60.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Nutrien from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on Nutrien from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on Nutrien from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

About Nutrien

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.