Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $528,000 Stock Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 173.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,002 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ RGLD traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.14. 606,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,566. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.43 and a 200-day moving average of $152.29. Royal Gold, Inc. has a one year low of $119.72 and a one year high of $191.78. The stock has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. The company had revenue of $193.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RGLD shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.