Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,666 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Royal Gold worth $5,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,112 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,894 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Royal Gold by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 21,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,871,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD traded down $1.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $176.51. The company had a trading volume of 517,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,384. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RGLD. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.00.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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 hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.