Orion Investment Co Purchases 8,431 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Orion Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 64.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,431 shares during the quarter. Royal Gold comprises 1.1% of Orion Investment Co's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Orion Investment Co's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in Royal Gold by 5.0% in 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 shares of Royal Gold by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,112 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.7% in the 4th 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 period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of RGLD traded up $7.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.56. The stock had a trading volume of 307,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,714. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.00 and a 52 week high of $169.00. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $152.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.84.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on RGLD. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price 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 issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.75.

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.