Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Shares Sold by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 793,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 62,830 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $104,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $474,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 303.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,063,000 after acquiring an additional 21,468 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $183.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.61 and a 1 year high of $191.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.14.

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 (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%. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.