Franco-Nevada Corporation $FNV Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Franco‑Nevada by 5.3% in Q3, selling 31,000 shares and retaining 554,360 shares (about 0.29% ownership) worth roughly $123.45 million.
• Q results beat expectations: Franco‑Nevada reported EPS of $1.85 vs. $1.67 expected and revenue of $597.3M vs. $542.02M, with revenue up 86.1% year‑over‑year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 (from $0.38), implying an annualized $1.76 payout and a ~0.7% yield with a payout ratio of about 31.9%.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV - Free Report) TSE: FNV by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 554,360 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Franco-Nevada worth $123,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franco-Nevada by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,585 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Franco-Nevada by 118.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 5,032 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 800.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Franco-Nevada in the 2nd quarter valued at $362,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franco-Nevada Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FNV opened at $262.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.45. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a 52 week low of $140.03 and a 52 week high of $285.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $247.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.19.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV - Get Free Report) TSE: FNV last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $597.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.02 million. Franco-Nevada had a net margin of 59.48% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Franco-Nevada's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Franco-Nevada's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FNV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Zacks Research raised Franco-Nevada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Franco-Nevada from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut Franco-Nevada from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.38.

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.

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