CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 595,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 112,823 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.34% of CF Industries worth $50,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 16.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter worth about $373,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 17.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 9.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,008,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 887,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,233. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.60.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.86.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. 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.