Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $51.43 Million Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,057 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 16,581 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.59% of Royal Gold worth $51,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of RGLD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $44,009,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 181.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,846,000 after purchasing an additional 194,905 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,427,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,258,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,998,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on RGLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.9 %

Royal Gold stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.51. The stock had a trading volume of 517,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,851. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.72 and a 12 month high of $191.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.74.

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

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Royal Gold Company 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.