ARP Americas LLC Has $10.97 Million Stake in Monsanto Company (MON)

ARP Americas LLC raised its stake in Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) by 32.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 22,942 shares during the period. Monsanto accounts for approximately 3.0% of ARP Americas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. ARP Americas LLC’s holdings in Monsanto were worth $10,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Monsanto during the first quarter worth $213,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Monsanto by 8.7% in the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 11,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Monsanto by 4.6% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Personal Capital Advisors Corp boosted its position in Monsanto by 11.9% in the first quarter. Personal Capital Advisors Corp now owns 153,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,496,000 after buying an additional 16,321 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in Monsanto by 3.4% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 11,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.28% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) opened at 117.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.34 and a 200-day moving average of $115.52. Monsanto Company has a 12-month low of $97.35 and a 12-month high of $118.97. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Monsanto (NYSE:MON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Monsanto had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Monsanto Company will post $4.89 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Monsanto’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Monsanto from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Barclays PLC lifted their target price on shares of Monsanto from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $128.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Monsanto in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Monsanto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, Citigroup Inc. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Monsanto in a research note on Monday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.43.

In other news, EVP Robert T. Fraley sold 52,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.95, for a total value of $6,181,759.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Janet M. Holloway sold 3,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $393,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,405 shares in the company, valued at $5,239,790. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,470 shares of company stock worth $8,791,281. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

About Monsanto

Monsanto Company (Monsanto), along with its subsidiaries, is a provider of agricultural products for farmers. The Company provides seeds, biotechnology trait products, herbicides and digital agriculture tools to farmers. The Company operates through two segments: Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity.

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