CI Investments Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. reduced its Royal Gold stake by 6.8% in the first quarter, selling 8,866 shares and leaving it with 121,931 shares valued at about $31.0 million.
• Royal Gold’s stock was up 3.7% to $201.26, and the company reported solid balance-sheet metrics, including a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08 and a market cap of $17.08 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, or $1.90 annually, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $280.27.

CI Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,931 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,866 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Royal Gold worth $31,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Gold by 25.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,681,577 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,026,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,900,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,311,607,000 after buying an additional 905,488 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Royal Gold by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,855,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $412,543,000 after acquiring an additional 874,329 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in Royal Gold by 457.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 925,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,820,000 after acquiring an additional 759,810 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Up 3.7%

Royal Gold stock opened at $201.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.20. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.75 and a 12 month high of $306.25.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.65%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,000 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.74, for a total value of $243,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,646.68. The trade was a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on RGLD. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royal Gold from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Royal Gold from $325.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Royal Gold from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.27.

Royal Gold 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.

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