Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 173,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Mosaic worth $4,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 34.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,850 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mosaic by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,691,000 after buying an additional 435,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 986,812 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 13.9% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,939,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,717,000 after acquiring an additional 359,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 32.1% in the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,751,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,687,000 after acquiring an additional 668,347 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Up 4.2 %

MOS stock opened at $27.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.49 and its 200 day moving average is $27.60. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $24.11 and a 1-year high of $38.30.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly 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). Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Mosaic’s quarterly revenue was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is 74.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MOS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.22.

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.