CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,030 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $3,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $93.78. 1,516,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,240,612. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $90.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.79.

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.