Markel Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Franco-Nevada Corporation $FNV

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 605,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 36,000 shares during the period. Franco-Nevada accounts for about 1.1% of Markel Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of Franco-Nevada worth $134,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Franco-Nevada by 19.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Franco-Nevada by 20.5% during the second quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 78.3% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on FNV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Franco-Nevada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Franco-Nevada from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Franco-Nevada from $218.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada from $225.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franco-Nevada has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.00.

Franco-Nevada Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of FNV opened at $259.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.48. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a 12-month low of $127.20 and a 12-month high of $266.61.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.06. Franco-Nevada had a net margin of 59.48% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $487.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $448.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 76.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.87%.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto-based royalty and streaming company that specializes in securing and managing long-term interests in mining properties. The firm focuses primarily on precious metals, particularly gold, while also holding interests related to silver, copper, platinum-group metals and select base metals. Rather than operating mines directly, Franco-Nevada acquires royalty and streaming agreements that entitle it to a percentage of production or revenue from producing and developing assets in exchange for upfront or staged financing.

The company’s business model centers on providing capital to mining companies in return for a sustained share of production or metal revenue, which can reduce exposure to operating and capital cost risks typical of mine operators.