Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 515.4% in the 1st quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Mosaic in the first quarter worth $40,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Mosaic from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.91.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,821,628.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $1,111,354.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,687.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $25.56 on Friday. The Mosaic Company has a 52-week low of $24.11 and a 52-week high of $38.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.70 and its 200 day moving average is $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.36.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.74%.

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.