Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,241 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,241 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GYL Financial Synergies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the second quarter worth about $243,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Mosaic by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 218,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,326,000 after purchasing an additional 89,879 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Mosaic by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mosaic by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 34,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 6,286 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Mosaic stock opened at $28.89 on Wednesday. The Mosaic Company has a 52-week low of $26.09 and a 52-week high of $40.67. The stock has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.26 and a 200-day moving average of $29.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). Mosaic had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.74%.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,821,628.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mosaic news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total transaction of $346,035.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,359 shares in the company, valued at $938,687.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MOS. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mosaic from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.33.

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.