Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 322,662 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 889,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 322,662 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $23,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MOS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Mosaic by 1,815.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,682,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $346,743,000 after buying an additional 10,124,427 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mosaic by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,357,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,277,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,797 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mosaic by 34.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,850 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Mosaic by 1,795.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,279,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,936,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,687.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,111,354.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares in the company, valued at $3,821,628.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Price Performance

Mosaic stock opened at $28.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.10. The Mosaic Company has a 52 week low of $24.11 and a 52 week high of $38.30.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 6.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is 113.51%.

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.