Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Reduces Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC reduced its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 42.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,729 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,769 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Royal Gold by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,843,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $455,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of RGLD stock traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.51. 517,629 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,851. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.72 and a 1 year high of $191.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.74.

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, topping 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 expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.45 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 35.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RGLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

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.