J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys Shares of 10,753 CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 10,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CF. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 78.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 396.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Peterson Wealth Services raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 451.3% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $187,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,659.29. This trade represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of CF Industries 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $128.00 on Thursday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $141.96. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $107.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CF. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.93.

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.