MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $4.03 Million Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 3.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,889 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $4,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 132.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in CF Industries by 40.4% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth $50,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CF. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.42.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $90.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $91.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.87.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 2.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,201 shares of company stock worth $1,727,694. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.