The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 397,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,655 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $9,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,363,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Mosaic by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,507,131 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $332,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058,243 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Mosaic by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,041,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,382,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,426 shares during the last quarter. Criteria Caixa S.A.U. purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth $36,231,000. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth about $27,031,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MOS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded Mosaic from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.42.

Mosaic Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MOS opened at $30.60 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.49 and a 200 day moving average of $26.39. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $32.29.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is 160.00%.

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.