Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 72.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 959,901 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.34% of CF Industries worth $178,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in CF Industries by 139.2% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 13,310 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 7,745 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 8.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 258,164 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,176,000 after purchasing an additional 20,244 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in CF Industries by 62.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 43.9% in the first quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 819 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its stake in CF Industries by 2.9% in the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 13,534 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE:CF traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.20. 2,912,024 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,247,024. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.18. The company has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.96.

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

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CF. Oppenheimer cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.07.

About CF Industries

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.