Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 39.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,430 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,328 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Nutrien were worth $5,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Nutrien by 20.3% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 56,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 494,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,777,000 after buying an additional 32,541 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 921,998 shares of the company's stock worth $44,309,000 after acquiring an additional 26,229 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Nutrien by 25.7% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 97,635 shares of the company's stock worth $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 19,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Nutrien by 11.4% in the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,435 shares of the company's stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Nutrien Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE NTR opened at $45.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.82. Nutrien Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $44.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.26 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 2.79%. The business's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.939 per share. This is an increase from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.18%. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is 144.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Nutrien from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Nutrien from $66.00 to $59.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

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.