Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,908,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 518,534 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in B2Gold were worth $21,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of B2Gold by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,288 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in B2Gold by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 237,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 7,990 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 8,250 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of B2Gold by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 875,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,586,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,330,000 after buying an additional 15,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

B2Gold Stock Down 9.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BTG opened at $2.65 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.52, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. B2Gold Corp. has a 1 year low of $2.20 and a 1 year high of $3.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s payout ratio is currently -16.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BTG shares. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cormark downgraded B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. TD Securities downgraded shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.12.

B2Gold Profile

B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer company. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 100% interest in the Gramalote gold project in Colombia; 24% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp.