CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,721,258 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 646,992 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.91% of CF Industries worth $1,767,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $74,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in CF Industries by 2,848.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 280,535 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,202,000 after purchasing an additional 225,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 171,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,543,000 after buying an additional 21,632 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $76.65 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.09. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.