Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 521,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,123 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of CF Industries worth $40,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the second quarter worth about $96,560,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 52.4% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,227,000 after buying an additional 610,259 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 22.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,133,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $281,104,000 after buying an additional 568,710 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 106.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,053,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,526,000 after buying an additional 543,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,742,000 after buying an additional 480,126 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at $7,586,977.72. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF opened at $124.49 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.56 and a 52-week high of $141.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.31.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CF Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.87.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.