Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 13,928 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,928 shares during the quarter. Royal Gold comprises 1.3% of Verity Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,994,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,001,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547,076 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,321,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $666,300,000 after purchasing an additional 170,430 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 981,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $196,879,000 after purchasing an additional 148,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth about $22,219,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,508,417.69. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total transaction of $1,156,213.11. Following the sale, the director owned 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,698,162.03. This trade represents a 40.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,573 shares of company stock worth $2,127,091. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of RGLD traded up $4.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $235.60. 58,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,029,411. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.33. 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 $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). Royal Gold had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RGLD shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Royal Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 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 research note on Monday, January 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.64.

Royal Gold Company 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.