ING Groep NV Purchases New Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,158 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 878.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $33,128,000 after acquiring an additional 61,140 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings 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 worth $90,501,000 after acquiring an additional 248,020 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in CF Industries by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 370,328 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,218,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CF shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total value of $2,454,658.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. The trade was a 24.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total transaction of $756,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $8,753,472. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,690,711. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $108.43 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $121.95 and its 200-day moving average is $103.20. The stock has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.38. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.42 and a twelve month high of $141.96. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.97%.

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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