Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 1,976 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,976 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mosaic Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of MOS stock opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.16. The Mosaic Company has a 12-month low of $22.48 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. The firm 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.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is presently 160.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mosaic from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.64.

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.