Markel Group Inc. Increases Position in Franco-Nevada Corporation $FNV

Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 708,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Franco-Nevada comprises approximately 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Franco-Nevada were worth $175,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Franco-Nevada during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $578,577,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,123,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,062,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,257 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,441,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,542,402,000 after purchasing an additional 842,132 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,277,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $264,882,000 after buying an additional 639,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,889,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,638,000 after buying an additional 443,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Franco-Nevada Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FNV traded down $2.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.57. The stock had a trading volume of 407,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,434. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a one year low of $152.89 and a one year high of $285.67. The stock has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.93.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The basic materials company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $650.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.43 million. Franco-Nevada had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 65.12%.The business’s revenue was up 76.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 8.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Franco-Nevada Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FNV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities upgraded shares of Franco-Nevada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Franco-Nevada from $258.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Franco-Nevada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franco-Nevada currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.00.

Franco-Nevada Company Profile

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.