M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,549 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,618 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in CF Industries were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CF Industries stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.13. The stock had a trading volume of 263,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,022. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $92.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.