Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,382 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.24% of Royal Gold worth $20,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Royal Gold by 61.1% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RGLD shares. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.75.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RGLD traded up $1.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.28. 131,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,113. The business's fifty day moving average is $155.17 and its 200 day moving average is $146.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.00 and a fifty-two week high of $186.50.

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, 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%. On average, analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

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.