Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,433 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of CF Industries worth $14,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CF. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $494,202,000 after buying an additional 225,109 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $382,901,000 after buying an additional 299,173 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 150,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,044,000 after acquiring an additional 216,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CF traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $93.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,516,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,175. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.79.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.