Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys 2,634 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,634 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 110.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tobam bought a new position in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 180,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MOS shares. Barclays downgraded shares of Mosaic from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. CIBC started coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.80.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Mosaic stock opened at $27.13 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a fifty-two week low of $23.56 and a fifty-two week high of $33.44.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.88%.

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.