CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 4,452 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,452 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.11% of Royal Gold worth $9,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $44,009,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Royal Gold by 181.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,846,000 after buying an additional 194,905 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,427,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $15,258,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $11,998,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of RGLD traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.57. The stock had a trading volume of 515,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,185. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.82. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.00 and a fifty-two week high of $191.78.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.