Credit Agricole S A Buys 51,386 Shares of The Mosaic Company $MOS

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in The Mosaic Company by 57.4%, acquiring an additional 51,386 shares, bringing its total holdings to 140,916 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million.
• Insider selling occurred with SVP Walter F. Precourt III selling 18,000 shares at an average price of $35.73, reducing his position by 12.28%.
• Research analysts have varied outlooks on Mosaic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $36.42, indicating positive growth expectations despite recent earnings misses.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,916 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,386 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Mosaic were worth $3,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MOS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 102.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MOS shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.42.

Mosaic Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MOS stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,461,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,532,821. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.27. The Mosaic Company has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $38.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.20). Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Mosaic's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 128,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,592,948.58. The trade was a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

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.