Bastion Asset Management Inc. Invests $4.60 Million in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Key Points

• Bastion Asset Management Inc. has invested approximately $4.60 million in The Mosaic Company by acquiring 166,979 shares, representing 2.5% of its investment portfolio as of the latest filing.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Mosaic, with Hedge funds and others now owning 77.54% of the company's stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Mosaic received multiple analyst upgrades, with BNP Paribas issuing a "strong-buy" rating and UBS Group raising its price target to $45.00, reflecting a positive market outlook for the stock.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 166,979 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,596,000. Mosaic accounts for 2.5% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Bastion Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Mosaic at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 102.3% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,947 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 110,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Mosaic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised Mosaic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 128,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Trading Down 1.3%

MOS opened at $36.91 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The Mosaic Company has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $38.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 3.32%. Mosaic's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.

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