Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital sharply reduced its Royal Gold stake by 61.3% in the first quarter, selling more than 1.1 million shares and ending with 717,395 shares valued at about $182.6 million.
• Despite that move, institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 83.65% of Royal Gold’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment is still generally positive but somewhat mixed: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though several firms recently trimmed price targets, and the average target is about $280.27.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 61.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 717,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,138,482 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.85% of Royal Gold worth $182,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RGLD shares. National Bank Financial cut their target price on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Royal Gold from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $325.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Royal Gold from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.27.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.7%

Royal Gold stock opened at $200.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.75 and a 52 week high of $306.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $207.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.75. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.85, for a total transaction of $107,925.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,852,424.70. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Royal Gold

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.

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