Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Purchases New Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,702,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in CF Industries by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 435,855 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,980,000 after buying an additional 157,105 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,248,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $191,862,000 after buying an additional 71,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wills Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 42,969 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,666,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.1 %

CF opened at $80.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $98.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.34.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.29.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.