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

Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 605,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the quarter. Franco-Nevada makes up about 1.1% of Markel Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Franco-Nevada were worth $134,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FNV. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franco-Nevada in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 590.9% during the 2nd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Franco-Nevada during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franco-Nevada Price Performance

Shares of FNV stock opened at $259.54 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $216.84 and a 200 day moving average of $198.75. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a 1 year low of $127.20 and a 1 year high of $266.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.48.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.06. Franco-Nevada had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 59.48%.The business had revenue of $487.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $448.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 76.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FNV. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Franco-Nevada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Franco-Nevada from $225.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Franco-Nevada from $211.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.00.

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.