Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 2,887 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,759 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,887 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $2,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at about $640,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Mosaic by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,872 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,148,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $765,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE MOS opened at $27.82 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.69 and its 200 day moving average is $26.70. 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 capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a twelve month low of $23.56 and a twelve month high of $33.44.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.16%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MOS shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Mosaic from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. CIBC started coverage on Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mosaic has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.82.

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.