The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 5.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 128,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,799 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $3,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Mosaic during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mosaic during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its stake in Mosaic by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 3,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Mosaic by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 128,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Mosaic stock opened at $34.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The Mosaic Company has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $37.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.80.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded Mosaic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.58.

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.