Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU) Stake Reduced by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU) (TSE:AGU) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 412,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 14,946 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.30% of Agrium worth $37,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Agrium by 24.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,019,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $384,097,000 after buying an additional 791,000 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agrium during the first quarter valued at $55,636,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Agrium during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,443,000. Lincluden Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Agrium during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,511,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Agrium during the first quarter valued at approximately $16,851,000. 69.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Agrium Inc. (NYSE AGU) traded down 0.08% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.36. The company had a trading volume of 336,360 shares. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.13. The company has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.62. Agrium Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.78 and a 1-year high of $111.88.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Agrium’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.34%.

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Several brokerages have recently commented on AGU. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $110.00 price objective on Agrium and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Citigroup Inc. reduced their price target on Agrium from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Cowen and Company set a $99.00 price target on Agrium and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. TD Securities set a $99.00 price target on Agrium and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $107.00) on shares of Agrium in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.86.

Agrium Company Profile

Agrium Inc is a retailer of agricultural products and services in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and a multi-national producer and wholesale marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. The Company’s segments include Retail and Wholesale. As of December 31, 2016, its Retail business unit marketed crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed, merchandise, application and other agronomic services through 1,500 retail locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.