The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in The Mosaic Company by 42.2% during Q1, owning approximately 2.52% of the company worth $215.5 million.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Mosaic's ratings, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target price from $35 to $37, while Oppenheimer increased its target from $39 to $43.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.51 for the last quarter, missing estimates of $0.71, but its revenue rose by 6.7% year-over-year to $3.01 billion.

Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 42.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,979,380 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,368,094 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 2.52% of Mosaic worth $215,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MOS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Mosaic by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,041,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $271,382,000 after buying an additional 2,151,426 shares in the last quarter. Criteria Caixa S.A.U. bought a new position in Mosaic during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,231,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Mosaic during the first quarter valued at about $33,897,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mosaic by 606.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,389,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,526,000 after buying an additional 1,192,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP bought a new position in Mosaic during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,031,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Mosaic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.42.

Mosaic Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE MOS opened at $32.22 on Thursday. The Mosaic Company has a one year low of $22.36 and a one year high of $38.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.95.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total transaction of $643,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 128,546 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About Mosaic

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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