Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 877,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,206 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.33% of Royal Gold worth $115,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,651,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $877,058,000 after buying an additional 89,298 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $63,843,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $44,009,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 181.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,846,000 after purchasing an additional 194,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Royal Gold by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 296,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,080,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD stock traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.12. 173,730 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 407,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.61 and a 12 month high of $191.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.53.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 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, equities analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Company 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.