Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys New Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased 21,708 Royal Gold shares worth approximately $5.5 million in the first quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 83.65% of the company.
• Royal Gold shares opened at $195.48, well below their 52-week high of $306.25. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $280.27.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.90 dividend and a 1.0% yield. Separately, an insider sold 1,000 shares for approximately $243,740.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,524,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,733,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,163,732,000 after purchasing an additional 678,732 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Gold by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,718,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $826,618,000 after acquiring an additional 396,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $434,063,000 after purchasing an additional 78,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,000 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,646.68. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RGLD opened at $195.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.99 and a 1-year high of $306.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $206.14 and its 200 day moving average is $241.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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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