Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Position Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 66,649 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Royal Gold worth $21,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 357.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,473,000 after purchasing an additional 40,419 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 187.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 83,015 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 75.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,174,000 after acquiring an additional 28,163 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,201,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 213.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total value of $291,747.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $82,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,950. This represents a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.2 %

RGLD stock opened at $133.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.93. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.55 and a 12 month high of $155.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (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. Royal Gold had a net margin of 42.93% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $193.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Royal Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on RGLD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.43.

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.