CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Sold by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its holdings in CF Industries by 51.0% during the first quarter, selling 1,484,074 shares; they currently own 1,426,967 shares valued at approximately $111.5 million.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting an annualized payout of $2.00 with a dividend yield of 2.3%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.37 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and marking a 20.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC reduced its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,426,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,484,074 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.84% of CF Industries worth $111,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 8,352.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $113,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CF Industries by 72.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $178,053,000 after acquiring an additional 959,901 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CF Industries by 113.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 928,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 492,846 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,275,464 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $255,977,000 after acquiring an additional 470,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth $34,179,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $84.38. The stock had a trading volume of 654,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,702,968. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.44. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.95.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Profile

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.