Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 43,982 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 217,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,982 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.07% of Mosaic worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in Mosaic by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 12,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 48,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in Mosaic by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 151,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,686 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Mosaic by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 46,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 23,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MOS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Mosaic from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. CIBC began coverage on Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.64.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $25.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. 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 $22.48 and a 1 year high of $33.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $26.21.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

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.