abrdn plc Sells 58,306 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

abrdn plc reduced its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 58,306 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 180,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $27.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The Mosaic Company has a 1-year low of $23.56 and a 1-year high of $33.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The business 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 firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MOS. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC started coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, Mosaic has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

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.