Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 6,983 Shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation $FNV

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management reduced its Franco-Nevada stake by 20.2%, selling 6,983 shares and retaining 27,553 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.06% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 11 Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.40.
• Franco-Nevada reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.38 beating estimates and revenue rising 76.6% year over year to $650.7 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.44, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV - Free Report) TSE: FNV by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,553 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,983 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Franco-Nevada were worth $6,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franco-Nevada by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,330,234 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,726,741,000 after acquiring an additional 113,916 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Franco-Nevada by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,441,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,542,402,000 after purchasing an additional 842,132 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Franco-Nevada by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,123,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,062,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,257 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,808,645 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $582,177,000 after purchasing an additional 260,793 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Franco-Nevada during the fourth quarter valued at about $578,577,000. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Franco-Nevada from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Franco-Nevada from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franco-Nevada from $310.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Franco-Nevada from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.40.

Franco-Nevada Price Performance

NYSE:FNV opened at $221.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $215.30 and a 200-day moving average of $236.45. The company has a market cap of $42.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.36. Franco-Nevada Corporation has a one year low of $158.26 and a one year high of $285.67.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV - Get Free Report) TSE: FNV last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The basic materials company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $650.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $634.43 million. Franco-Nevada had a net margin of 65.12% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 76.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franco-Nevada Corporation will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Franco-Nevada's dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Franco-Nevada Company Profile

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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