Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stake Lessened by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 759,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 24,945 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.15% of Royal Gold worth $100,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Royal Gold by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,577,000. Orion Investment Co lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 21,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 36,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 11,023 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $184.90. 566,791 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,132. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.00 and a 1-year high of $191.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $157.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.64.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Friday, April 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

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.