Ruffer LLP Sells 301,960 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP reduced its stake in The Mosaic Company by 17.9%, selling 301,960 shares, which leaves it with about 1.4% of its portfolio in Mosaic, valued at approximately $37.3 million.
• The stock price of Mosaic is currently down 1.9%, with shares trading at $35.31, while analysts have set a consensus price target of $36.75.
• Mosaic's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.49, exceeding expectations but reflecting a 2.2% year-over-year revenue decline.

Ruffer LLP cut its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,381,628 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 301,960 shares during the quarter. Mosaic comprises about 1.4% of Ruffer LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.44% of Mosaic worth $37,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Mosaic in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.83.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MOS traded down $4.68 on Wednesday, hitting $31.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,982,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,176,686. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.03 and a 200-day moving average of $30.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.12. The Mosaic Company has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $38.23.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of Mosaic 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 128,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,592,948.58. The trade was a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mosaic 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.