Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 78,055 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,055 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $13,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Nutrien in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Nutrien by 33.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Nutrien by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NTR traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.22. 1,484,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,886,325. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.89. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $47.86 and a twelve month high of $69.12. The firm has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 7.31%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Nutrien from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Nutrien from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Nutrien from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.39.

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.