Headlands Technologies LLC Raises Stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 132.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,041,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,382,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,426 shares in the last quarter. Criteria Caixa S.A.U. purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,231,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 606.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,389,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,602 shares in the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,031,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,672,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,265,000 after acquiring an additional 921,924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Price Performance

MOS opened at $31.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The Mosaic Company has a 1 year low of $22.36 and a 1 year high of $38.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.74% and a net margin of 8.35%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Mosaic’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total transaction of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 128,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC raised their price target on Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Mosaic from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.42.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.