Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,351,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,018,000 after purchasing an additional 178,844 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,279,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,817,000 after purchasing an additional 947,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,218,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,189,000 after purchasing an additional 986,812 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,939,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,717,000 after purchasing an additional 359,760 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,751,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,687,000 after purchasing an additional 668,347 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Mosaic stock opened at $25.77 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $23.56 and a 12-month high of $33.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.50.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MOS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. CIBC began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Mosaic from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mosaic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.80.

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.