The Mosaic Company $MOS Stock: M&G PLC Increases Position

M&G PLC grew its stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 30.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 856,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198,920 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Mosaic worth $18,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter worth $524,484,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mosaic by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,240,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $363,110,000 after buying an additional 832,914 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter valued at $163,662,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth $108,329,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Mosaic by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,136,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,471,000 after buying an additional 25,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MOS stock opened at $22.98 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of -6.49, a P/E/G ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $16.99 and a 1-year high of $32.25.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 9.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.58%. Mosaic’s revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -24.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total value of $508,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 116,198 shares in the company, valued at $2,570,299.76. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MOS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mosaic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Mosaic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.58.

Mosaic Company Profile

The Mosaic Company is a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products help farmers supply crops with essential nutrients, and the company also makes phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and products for industrial applications. Mosaic’s operations include phosphate mining and processing in the United States and potash mining in Canada. Through its Brazilian operations, Mosaic Fertilizantes, the company produces, blends and distributes crop nutrients and related products in Brazil and other markets in South America.