Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 8,007 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 675,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,007 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.35% of CF Industries worth $53,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CF Industries by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,747,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,653,523,000 after purchasing an additional 94,482 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in CF Industries by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,213,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $447,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,677 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,662,248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $340,437,000 after purchasing an additional 117,827 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in CF Industries by 101.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,014,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in CF Industries by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,644,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $312,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CF shares. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays raised CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF opened at $79.59 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.08 and a 12 month high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.