Markel Group Inc. Purchases 65,000 Shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation $FNV

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 9.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 773,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Franco-Nevada accounts for 1.2% of Markel Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Franco-Nevada were worth $161,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Franco-Nevada by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 77.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD upgraded shares of Franco-Nevada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $292.00 to $291.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Franco-Nevada from $290.00 to $274.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Franco-Nevada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Franco-Nevada from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Franco-Nevada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.40.

Franco-Nevada Price Performance

NYSE:FNV opened at $234.50 on Friday. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a one year low of $173.39 and a one year high of $285.67. The company has a market cap of $45.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $215.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.31.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $580.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.66 million. Franco-Nevada had a return on equity of 18.58% and a net margin of 63.79%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 57.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Franco-Nevada Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.01%.

Franco-Nevada 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.