The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mosaic by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 73,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 24,281 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mosaic by 44.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,218,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,189,000 after buying an additional 986,812 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 2.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,269,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,997,000 after buying an additional 28,816 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 291,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,168,000 after buying an additional 73,653 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Mosaic during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,251,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MOS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays downgraded Mosaic from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. CIBC initiated coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective 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 given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $25.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $23.56 and a 1-year high of $33.44.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

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.