Monsanto Co. (MON) CEO and Chairman Hugh Grant (Insider Trades) trimmed his holdings in the company by 149,230 shares on April 10. The price per share was $116.15 for a total transaction of $17,333,065.
Monsanto is an agriculture company that produces seeds with the purpose of protecting yield, supporting efficiency and reducing on-farm costs for farmers. It also manufactures Roundup ® brand herbicides for commercial and home use. The company has a market cap of $51.13 billion.
The number and volume of insider sells decreased each year from 2013 to 2015, starting from a total of 809,261 shares sold in 25 insider transactions with the company in 2013 to 116,389 insider shares sold in 10 insider transactions in 2015. The number of insider sells further decreased in 2016 to nine. To date in 2017, three insiders sold a total of 157,425 shares.
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The company reported total net sales of $5.07 billion the second fiscal quarter of 2017. This is up from the $4.53 billion in net sales reported in the second fiscal quarter of the previous year, comparing the two periods of time, gross profit also increased from $2.598 billion to $2.952 billion and net income also increased from $1.06 billion to $1.37 billion. The company’s annual revenue increased 3% while the company’s annual net income fell 1.3% since 2012; both, however, follow an increasing trend line.
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Grant commented that the company “delivered such an excellent first half and strong second quarter” despite the “tough macro economy for agriculture.” He continued by saying the company’s “innovation and unique platform” prepare it well for adversity and also make the company “an attractive, complementary partner for Bayer (XTER:BAYN, Financial).” Monsanto announced its merger with Bayer in May 2016 and is expected to close by the end of the calendar year 2017. Thirteen Monsanto board members ,who were re-elected by the company’s shareowners, will serve the company for one year after the merger.
According to GuruFocus.com information, Monsanto has a business predictability rank of 3.5 out of 5 stars. For more information about business predictability rank, click here.
In the first quarter of 2017, Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in the company by 35.80%. Manning & Napier reduced its stake in the company every quarter starting from the fourth quarter of 2014. The total estimated gain of the holding since the first quarter of 2011 is 26%. For more information about guru trades with Monsanto, click here.
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