The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Position Lowered by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 552 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MOS. Intellectus Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mosaic by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 12,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in Mosaic by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MOS opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Mosaic Company has a 12-month low of $22.48 and a 12-month high of $33.44.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is 160.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MOS. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Mosaic from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.64.

About Mosaic

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.