KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 103,839 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS has reduced its stake in The Mosaic Company by 62.8%, selling 103,839 shares in the 1st quarter, leaving it with 61,400 shares valued at approximately $1.66 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Twin Capital Management and Allworth Financial, have increased their holdings in Mosaic, with a significant 102.3% increase by Allworth in the first quarter.
• Mosaic's stock has received a range of upgrades from analysts, with Oppenheimer setting a new target price of $43.00, reflecting strong sentiment and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 62.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 103,839 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Mosaic were worth $1,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Mosaic in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Mosaic in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Mosaic by 102.3% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in Mosaic by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MOS traded down $0.75 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,771,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,088,493. The business's 50-day moving average is $36.11 and its 200 day moving average is $30.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio 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 market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MOS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas raised Mosaic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.75.

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.