Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Position in Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV - Free Report) TSE: FNV by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 859,848 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 341,661 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.45% of Franco-Nevada worth $100,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Franco-Nevada in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 453 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 619 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Franco-Nevada Price Performance

Franco-Nevada stock traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $171.96. The stock had a trading volume of 438,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,578. The company has a market cap of $33.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.42, a PEG ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $148.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.32. Franco-Nevada Co. has a 52 week low of $112.70 and a 52 week high of $174.44.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV - Get Free Report) TSE: FNV last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. Franco-Nevada had a negative net margin of 55.28% and a positive return on equity of 10.55%. The firm had revenue of $321.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Franco-Nevada's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franco-Nevada Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from Franco-Nevada's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Franco-Nevada's payout ratio is 53.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Franco-Nevada from $162.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Franco-Nevada from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Franco-Nevada in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.25.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation operates as a gold-focused royalty and streaming company in South America, Central America, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Mining and Energy segments. The company manages its portfolio with a focus on precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum group metals; and engages in the sale of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids through a third-party marketing agent.