Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 854,061 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,833,514 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 854,061 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $76,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 198.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 628.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Barrick Gold stock opened at $16.34 on Tuesday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12-month low of $13.76 and a 12-month high of $21.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GOLD shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.60.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.