Bank of America Corp DE Invests $49.30 Million in The Mosaic Company $MOS

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a new $49.3 million stake in Mosaic during the second quarter, purchasing 2.33 million shares and owning approximately 0.73% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 77.54% of MOS shares.
• Mosaic slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations with $0.13 per share, but revenue fell 6% year over year to $2.82 billion, below the $3.10 billion consensus estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equating to an annualized $0.88 payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $27.17 price target, compared with the stock’s $24.52 opening price.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,326,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $49,299,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.73% of Mosaic at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MOS. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter worth $1,299,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,722,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,395,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,229,000. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $371,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

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 transaction of $508,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,570,299.76. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $24.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.80 and a fifty-two week high of $36.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of -12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.69.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is -43.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MOS shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.17.

Mosaic Company Profile

The Mosaic Company NYSE: MOS is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to replenish essential nutrients in soil and support agricultural yields. The company also produces animal feed ingredients and other phosphorus-based products derived from its phosphate operations.

Mosaic's operations span the production, processing, distribution and marketing of crop nutrients. Its phosphate business is supported by phosphate rock mining and processing operations, while its potash business includes mining and processing facilities in Canada and the United States.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.