Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Mosaic Company $MOS

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC made a new investment in The Mosaic Company, acquiring 12,080 shares valued at approximately $326,000 in the first quarter.
• Major institutional investors have increased their stakes in Mosaic, with Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raising its holdings by 24.2% in the last quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Mosaic stock, with Barclays raising the target from $40.00 to $46.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,080 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 36.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 14,943 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,172 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $1,119,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 7,828 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 23,543 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Stock Performance

MOS stock traded down $0.0090 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.2910. The company had a trading volume of 1,029,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,564,848. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.12. The Mosaic Company has a one year low of $22.36 and a one year high of $38.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.07.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MOS. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.42.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

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.