Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Acquires Shares of 78,448 The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 78,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. West Tower Group LLC grew its holdings in Mosaic by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 51,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,696,000. Cadence Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 296.5% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 172,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,232,000 after acquiring an additional 128,749 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $27.95 on Thursday. The Mosaic Company has a 52 week low of $22.48 and a 52 week high of $33.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.16.

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 given 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 3.15%. This is an increase from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mosaic from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised Mosaic from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mosaic from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, CIBC started coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.64.

Mosaic 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.