The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Stock Position Lifted by Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MOS. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Mosaic by 110.8% during the 4th 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. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mosaic by 46.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Mosaic by 180,900.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MOS opened at $28.71 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.73. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a 12-month low of $23.56 and a 12-month high of $33.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.24). Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MOS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays downgraded shares of Mosaic from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $30.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, CIBC began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.09.

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.