California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 117,685 Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 377,953 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 117,685 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Mosaic worth $9,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $740,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at $5,214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of MOS traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.99. 1,667,681 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,693,322. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $30.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.51. The Mosaic Company has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $37.66.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is 75.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 128,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MOS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Mosaic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.58.

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.