Bank of Montreal Can Sells 39,774 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 39,774 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.13% of Royal Gold worth $11,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,651,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $877,058,000 after buying an additional 89,298 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $185,454,000 after purchasing an additional 33,151 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Royal Gold by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,009,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 181.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,846,000 after purchasing an additional 194,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Price Performance

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

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

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

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

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.