Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,892 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Royal Gold by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 28,873 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 0.4% in the fourth 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. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 88,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the last quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. raised its position in Royal Gold by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 86,978 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,468,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,369,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RGLD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Raymond James upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.9 %

Royal Gold stock traded up $3.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $188.44. The company had a trading volume of 165,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,929. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.00 and a 12 month high of $191.47. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $158.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.04.

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

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 35.71%.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.