Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stock Holdings Boosted by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Royal Gold worth $4,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Royal Gold by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,112 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Royal Gold by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,894 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 21,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Royal Gold by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD traded up $1.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $180.84. 435,474 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 405,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.61 and a 12 month high of $191.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.70 and a 200-day moving average of $149.57.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

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

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.