Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) Stake Raised by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS - Free Report) TSE: PAAS by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 252,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,275 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Pan American Silver worth $5,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Pan American Silver by 191.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 167,847 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 110,170 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Pan American Silver by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 834,933 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,649,000 after buying an additional 94,308 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Pan American Silver during the 4th quarter valued at $1,233,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Pan American Silver in the 4th quarter worth about $3,032,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pan American Silver during the fourth quarter worth about $91,916,000. 55.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pan American Silver Price Performance

Pan American Silver stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,819,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,707,422. Pan American Silver Corp. has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $28.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.16. The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.05 and a beta of 1.06.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Pan American Silver had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 6.14%. The firm had revenue of $815.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $805.20 million. Analysts anticipate that Pan American Silver Corp. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pan American Silver Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Pan American Silver's dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Pan American Silver from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Pan American Silver from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Pan American Silver in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Pan American Silver from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pan American Silver presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.50.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.