Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 114,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,734 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.17% of Royal Gold worth $15,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,976,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 95,451 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth $187,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 59,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Gold by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,106 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Royal Gold stock traded up $5.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $170.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,856. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.00 and a fifty-two week high of $172.20. The firm has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.11.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.75.

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.