The Mosaic Company $MOS Stock: Howard Capital Management LLC Raises Stake

Howard Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,807 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $6,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $524,484,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $363,110,000 after buying an additional 832,914 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth $163,662,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at $108,329,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $105,471,000 after buying an additional 25,109 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE MOS traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.81. 9,441,798 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,346,945. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.94. The Mosaic Company has a 12-month low of $18.41 and a 12-month high of $32.25. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.31, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. Mosaic had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -43.56%.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total value of $508,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,570,299.76. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Mosaic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Mosaic Profile

The Mosaic Company is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to support plant growth, improve yields and replenish essential nutrients in agricultural soils. Mosaic also produces phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and other crop nutrition products.

Mosaic operates an integrated business that includes mining, processing, manufacturing and distribution. Its phosphate operations are primarily located in the United States, while its potash operations include mining assets in Canada and the United States.