Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stock Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,581 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.59% of Royal Gold worth $51,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $44,009,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 181.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,846,000 after purchasing an additional 194,905 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,427,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,258,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,998,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RGLD opened at $180.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.61 and a 52-week high of $191.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.06.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.