Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Shares Sold by Armor Advisors L.L.C.

Armor Advisors L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 66.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 66,000 shares during the quarter. Royal Gold accounts for 4.6% of Armor Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Armor Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $4,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Royal Gold by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $455,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on RGLD. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $176.51 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.72 and a 12 month high of $191.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.63 and its 200 day moving average is $150.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

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.