Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 24.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,714 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.09% of Royal Gold worth $8,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the third quarter worth $49,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Royal Gold by 51.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 361 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Royal Gold by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $165.43.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

RGLD stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $145.68. 353,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,884. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.59. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.55 and a 52 week high of $155.10.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $193.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.12 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total transaction of $291,747.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,950. This represents a 3.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.