Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 1,387 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,892 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RGLD. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Royal Gold by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 28,873 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,807,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 21,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in Royal Gold by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 88,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 86,978 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,468,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Royal Gold by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ RGLD traded down $1.55 on Friday, hitting $184.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 566,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,883. The firm has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.00 and a 52-week high of $191.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.64.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.00.

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.