Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 303.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 21,468 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $4,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of RGLD. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 357.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,473,000 after buying an additional 40,419 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 187.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 83,015 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 75.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,174,000 after purchasing an additional 28,163 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter worth about $1,201,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 213.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RGLD traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.32. The stock had a trading volume of 124,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,572. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.55 and a 12-month high of $155.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.14 and a 200-day moving average of $138.93. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $184.12 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Royal Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is 41.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Gold news, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total value of $291,747.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,859.40. This represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,950. This trade represents a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Gold Company 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.