4,260 Shares in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Acquired by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,901,000 after purchasing an additional 299,173 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $377,585,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,044,000 after purchasing an additional 216,395 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CF shares. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF opened at $100.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.35%.

CF Industries Company 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.

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