Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,929,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 274,201 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 3.46% of Royal Gold worth $584,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RGLD. Plancorp LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,053,000 after buying an additional 5,646 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $1,024,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Royal Gold by 161.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 43,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,744,000 after acquiring an additional 27,051 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in Royal Gold by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 32,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,153,000 after acquiring an additional 12,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WJ Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,010,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RGLD shares. Zacks Research lowered Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royal Gold from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.10.

Royal Gold Price Performance

RGLD stock opened at $262.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $215.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.73. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.88 and a 52-week high of $306.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 47.74%.The company had revenue of $468.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 114.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.80, for a total value of $131,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,123,949.60. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.