The Mosaic Company $MOS Stock Holdings Trimmed by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in The Mosaic Company by 31.1%, selling 150,852 shares, while still retaining ownership of 334,826 shares worth approximately $9,044,000.
• The company reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations of $0.71, with total revenue at $3.01 billion.
• A number of analysts have varying target price forecasts for Mosaic, with Barclays raising its target from $40 to $46 and Wells Fargo reducing it from $38 to $34.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 334,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 150,852 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.11% of Mosaic worth $9,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mosaic Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MOS traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.39. 2,971,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,461,103. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $38.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.37. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Mosaic's payout ratio is 29.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MOS. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.42.

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.