CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,306 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $2,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in CF Industries by 50.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CF opened at $79.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.15. 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 capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised shares of CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.86.

CF Industries Company 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.