Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Has $6.02 Million Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 1,837.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,676 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 43,318 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.07% of Royal Gold worth $6,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Royal Gold by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Gold by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,843,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $455,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Royal Gold Price Performance

RGLD stock traded up $5.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.53. The company had a trading volume of 501,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,455. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $166.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.20. The company has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.72 and a 1-year high of $191.78.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RGLD shares. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.00.

About Royal Gold

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.