Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stock Holdings Increased by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RGLD. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at about $474,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 303.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 21,468 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in Royal Gold by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Royal Gold by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on RGLD. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:RGLD traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $180.84. The stock had a trading volume of 435,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,727. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.57. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.61 and a 1-year high of $191.78.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. Research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

About Royal Gold

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.