Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD Stock Sold by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 70.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,196 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 88.6% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in Royal Gold by 622.2% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.80, for a total value of $131,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,949.60. This represents a 5.83% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $268.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.01 and a 12 month high of $306.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.32 and its 200 day moving average is $240.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $464.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.84 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 47.69% and a return on equity of 11.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. Research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 10.71 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.4750 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RGLD. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $305.00 price objective on Royal Gold in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $337.00 price objective on Royal Gold in a research note on Friday, November 6th. TD dropped their target price on Royal Gold from $315.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Royal Gold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $309.67.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc. is a precious metals company that finances mining operations through royalty and streaming agreements. Rather than operating mines itself, the company acquires interests that give it rights to payments or a share of future metal production from mines operated by other companies. Under a streaming agreement, Royal Gold provides financing in exchange for the right to purchase a specified portion of a mine’s future production at an agreed price. Its royalties generally entitle it to payments tied to a mine’s production or revenue.