Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 3,382,443 Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Free Report) TSE: FR by 897.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,759,181 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 3,382,443 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.20% of First Majestic Silver worth $20,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,877 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 16,424 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter valued at $504,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver in the third quarter worth $2,419,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 9.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 136,901 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,171 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities raised First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Majestic Silver currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of AG traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $6.52. The company had a trading volume of 17,876,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,732,007. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.56. First Majestic Silver Corp. has a 52-week low of $4.43 and a 52-week high of $8.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.18.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. The business had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $227.77 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0057 per share. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. First Majestic Silver's payout ratio is currently -5.71%.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.