Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $158.98 Million Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its stake in CF Industries by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, owning 2.06 million shares worth about $158.98 million at the end of the period.
• CF Industries reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.98 versus estimates of $2.63 and revenue of $1.99 billion versus $1.84 billion expected. Revenue rose 19.4% from a year earlier.
• Despite the earnings beat, the stock was down 3.2% and analysts currently rate CF Industries a Hold on average, with a consensus target price of $119.00.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,055,637 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 362,158 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.32% of CF Industries worth $158,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,868,000 after acquiring an additional 23,942 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 878.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in CF Industries by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 369,321 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,128,000 after acquiring an additional 61,140 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in CF Industries by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,501,000 after acquiring an additional 248,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total value of $438,704.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,293.68. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.69, for a total value of $854,312.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,316,267.68. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,824 shares of company stock valued at $5,333,817. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on CF Industries from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.00.

CF Industries Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of CF stock opened at $113.72 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.42 and a 12 month high of $141.96. The firm has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.96 and a 200-day moving average of $102.63. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.97%.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.

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