Norges Bank Buys New Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 134,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,803,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 99.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 168,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,608,000 after acquiring an additional 84,206 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 51.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 8,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 28.9% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 43.0% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 188,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,478,000 after acquiring an additional 56,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 4.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Gold news, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,508,417.69. This represents a 9.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.74, for a total value of $243,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,646.68. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Gold Price Performance

NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $204.79 on Wednesday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.75 and a 52 week high of $306.25. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.38. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.41.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 22.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RGLD shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $325.00 price objective on Royal Gold and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.64.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.