BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Stock Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,389 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 51.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 361 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Royal Gold by 108.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the second quarter worth $62,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Down 1.2 %

RGLD traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $144.26. 268,975 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 423,351. The company has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89. Royal Gold, Inc. has a one year low of $100.55 and a one year high of $155.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.67.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.13. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%. The business had revenue of $193.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Royal Gold's revenue was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Royal Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.43, for a total value of $120,481.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,648.06. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total transaction of $291,747.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RGLD. TD Securities lifted their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $165.43.

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.