CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in CF Industries by 1.0% (sold 206,744 shares) during Q4 and still owns about 12.54% of the company, valued at roughly $1.51 billion.
• Company insiders have been active sellers—EVPs Susan Menzel and Bert Frost recently sold 18,041 and 6,000 shares respectively, with insiders selling 82,408 shares worth about $9.97 million over the last three months (insiders now own 0.51%).
• CF beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.59 vs. $2.53) with revenue up 22.8% year-over-year, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00, ~1.6% yield), and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with a $118.53 price target.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,561,463 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 206,744 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.54% of CF Industries worth $1,512,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 396.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its stake in CF Industries by 451.3% during the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CF shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on CF Industries from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho increased 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 increased their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.53.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total value of $756,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $8,753,472. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $124.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $141.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.52. The firm has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.52.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 12.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

CF Industries Profile

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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