Prudential PLC Has $6.45 Million Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. by 6.6%, owning approximately $6.45 million worth of shares at the end of the most recent reporting period.
• Royal Gold reported earnings per share of $1.81 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, along with a revenue of $209.64 million which was significantly higher than estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 26.39%.

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC owned 0.06% of Royal Gold worth $6,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at $4,004,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,882,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 776,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $127,021,000 after purchasing an additional 17,649 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 53.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,292 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RGLD shares. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $237.00 target price (up from $229.00) on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royal Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.63.

Royal Gold Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ RGLD traded up $1.84 on Friday, hitting $171.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 954,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,806. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.67 and a 1-year high of $191.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $167.55 and its 200 day moving average is $165.62. The firm has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.40.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.11. Royal Gold had a net margin of 56.24% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $209.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.39%.

Royal Gold 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.