The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,220 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 17.1% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 81,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 11,887 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 19,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 301.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 65,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 49,323 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Mosaic by 63.0% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 10,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Mosaic by 64.1% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MOS shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays cut their target price on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, CIBC initiated coverage on Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.40.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $25.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.92 and a 200-day moving average of $26.86. The Mosaic Company has a 52 week low of $23.56 and a 52 week high of $35.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Mosaic Company will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.88%.

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.