Virtu Financial LLC Buys 4,959 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 146.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,959 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $185,454,000 after buying an additional 33,151 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $63,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Royal Gold by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 179,029 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,605,000 after buying an additional 3,286 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Royal Gold by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 178,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,074,000 after buying an additional 46,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $18,427,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.86.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock traded up $3.03 on Tuesday, reaching $160.20. The company had a trading volume of 204,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,153. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $146.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.08. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.01 and a 1 year high of $159.23.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is owned by 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.