First Trust Advisors LP Sells 77,500 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Royal Gold stake by 26.3%, selling 77,500 shares in the first quarter and retaining 216,654 shares valued at approximately $55.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.65% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with nine Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell; Royal Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.27.
• Royal Gold recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $1.90 and a 0.9% yield, with a 22.65% payout ratio.

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 77,500 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.26% of Royal Gold worth $55,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,733,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,163,732,000 after buying an additional 678,732 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,867,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,577 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 18.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 905,488 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,718,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $826,618,000 after acquiring an additional 396,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,952,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $434,063,000 after acquiring an additional 78,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Royal Gold from $325.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research raised Royal Gold from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Royal Gold from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Nine research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.27.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $200.96 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Royal Gold, Inc. has a one year low of $150.75 and a one year high of $306.25. The company has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.44.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. 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 currently 22.65%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.85, for a total transaction of $107,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,852,424.70. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RGLD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.