Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited $AEM

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its AEM stake by 5.5% to 1,023,863 shares (about $174 million) after selling 59,494 shares in the quarter.
• Large institutions moved into or raised positions—Norges Bank opened a roughly $938.6 million position and Capital World Investors increased to 20,765,804 shares (~$3.50 billion)—leaving institutional investors owning 68.34% of the company.
• Agnico beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.69 vs. $2.56; revenue $3.53B, +60.3% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 ($1.80 annualized), and carries a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $234.91.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM - Free Report) TSE: AEM by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,023,863 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 59,494 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.20% of Agnico Eagle Mines worth $173,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines during the second quarter worth about $938,644,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 20.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,765,804 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,497,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,462,968 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 38.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,296,796 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $987,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,131 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Agnico Eagle Mines by 48.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,528,022 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $538,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,164,046 shares of the mining company's stock worth $495,230,000 after buying an additional 1,444,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the company's stock.

Key Agnico Eagle Mines News

Here are the key news stories impacting Agnico Eagle Mines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Agnico’s fundamentals and capital-return profile remain strong: the company has shown solid free cash flow, raised dividends and buybacks are possible if gold prices hold — a near-term tailwind for shareholder returns. Can Agnico Eagle Drive Even Higher Shareholder Returns Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and screens still list AEM as a long-term buy despite short-term metal pullbacks, reflecting expected secular demand for gold which supports miners’ cash flow and dividends. Gold & Silver Slip as Dollar Strengthens: 4 Stocks to Own
• Positive Sentiment: Sector peer strength: Franco‑Nevada’s strong Q4 results and revenue surge highlight robust royalty/stream exposure to current gold prices — a positive read-across for the gold complex and investor interest in gold equities. Franco-Nevada Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Surge 86% Y/Y
• Neutral Sentiment: Market note: AEM recently closed lower relative to the market (reported ~-1.8% on the last session), a data point showing short-term underperformance versus peers. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headwinds: a stronger U.S. dollar and rising real yields are pressuring gold and silver prices today, which typically drags down gold miners’ shares in the short term. Monitor dollar moves and real rates for further directional cues. Gold & Silver Slip as Dollar Strengthens: 4 Stocks to Own

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $198.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research raised Agnico Eagle Mines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $189.00 price target on Agnico Eagle Mines in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $234.91.

Agnico Eagle Mines Stock Performance

Agnico Eagle Mines stock opened at $218.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $109.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 0.61. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a 1-year low of $94.77 and a 1-year high of $255.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $211.75 and a 200-day moving average of $180.51.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM - Get Free Report) TSE: AEM last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The mining company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. Agnico Eagle Mines had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 37.47%.Agnico Eagle Mines's revenue was up 60.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Agnico Eagle Mines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Agnico Eagle Mines's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

About Agnico Eagle Mines

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited NYSE: AEM is a Canadian-based senior gold producer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production and reclamation of gold-bearing properties. Agnico Eagle pursues both greenfield and brownfield exploration to expand its resource base and operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects to generate long-life gold production.

Its core business activities span the full mining lifecycle: grassroots and advanced-stage exploration, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, mine construction, underground and open-pit mining, ore processing and metal recovery, and post-mining reclamation and closure.

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