Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 3,117 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 19,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 83.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 713.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,747 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Royal Gold by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Royal Gold by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total value of $549,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,508,417.69. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total value of $1,156,213.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,698,162.03. The trade was a 40.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,573 shares of company stock worth $2,127,091. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RGLD shares. National Bank Financial lowered their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Royal Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research lowered Royal Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.64.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $230.59 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $260.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.75 and a 52-week high of $306.25. The company has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.43.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). The firm had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company’s revenue was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

Royal Gold Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.