Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Holdings in First Majestic Silver Corp. $AG

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management trimmed its stake in First Majestic Silver by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 9.39 million shares worth about $156.5 million at the end of the period.
• First Majestic Silver reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, missing analyst estimates, and revenue of $476.67 million, also below expectations, though revenue still surged 95.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0171 per share from $0.01, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $25.25.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Free Report) TSE: FR by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,393,080 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 305,594 shares during the quarter. First Majestic Silver makes up 1.3% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 1.91% of First Majestic Silver worth $156,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 43,225,807 shares of the mining company's stock worth $531,234,000 after buying an additional 10,471,543 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,014,859 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $258,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,023 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,995,222 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $316,914,000 after purchasing an additional 945,067 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,932,368 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $232,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,265,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203,207 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $88,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company's stock.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

Shares of AG opened at $20.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.54. First Majestic Silver Corp. has a 1-year low of $6.00 and a 1-year high of $32.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $20.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.14.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The mining company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $476.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $522.00 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. First Majestic Silver's quarterly revenue was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.0171 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. First Majestic Silver's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AG shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver to $30.75 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.25.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. NYSE: AG engages in the production of silver from its wholly owned operations in Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating high-grade silver projects. Established in 2002, First Majestic has built a multi-mine portfolio to supply silver primarily for the global industrial and investment markets while generating by-products such as gold, lead and zinc concentrates.

First Majestic’s principal operations are located in the historic Mexican Silver Belt, with producing mines including La Encantada in Coahuila, Santa Elena in Sonora and La Parrilla in Durango.

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