Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,775 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,005 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.21% of Royal Gold worth $18,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Royal Gold stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.90. The company had a trading volume of 566,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,883. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.64. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.00 and a 1 year high of $191.22. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RGLD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Royal Gold

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.