The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 863,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,411 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.27% of Mosaic worth $21,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mosaic by 46.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Mosaic from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Mosaic Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MOS stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.73. 1,741,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,694,602. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $26.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.51. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a fifty-two week low of $23.56 and a fifty-two week high of $33.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Mosaic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.34%.

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.