Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Sprott Inc. $SII

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Sprott Inc. by 56.8%, selling 94,136 shares and retaining 71,611 shares valued at approximately $3.2 million.
• TD Securities downgraded Sprott's rating from "buy" to "hold", while the stock holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• Sprott recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 62.18%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Free Report) by 56.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,611 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,136 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Sprott worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sprott Inc. grew its holdings in Sprott by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,584,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,105,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Sprott by 41.0% in the first quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 602,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,988,000 after purchasing an additional 175,200 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Sprott by 11.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 288,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,958,000 after purchasing an additional 29,069 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Sprott by 15.8% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 164,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,361,000 after purchasing an additional 22,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Sprott by 2,580.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,000 after purchasing an additional 153,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Sprott Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of SII traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.94. 186,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,246. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.79 and a beta of 1.01. Sprott Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.19.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $41.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.66 million. Sprott had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 25.21%.

Sprott Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Sprott's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, TD Securities lowered Sprott from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sprott Profile

Sprott Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides asset management, portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and administrative and consulting services to its clients. It offers mutual funds, hedge funds, and offshore funds, along with managed accounts.