NBC Securities Inc. Invests $26,000 in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 3,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Mosaic by 54.1% during 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. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Mosaic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 128,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Trading Up 3.3%

MOS opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.76 and its 200-day moving average is $28.03. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $37.69.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 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 the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.86%.

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.