Driehaus Capital Management LLC Sells 36,408 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 36,408 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Royal Gold worth $11,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RGLD. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,773,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,156,842,000 after purchasing an additional 37,648 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,651,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $877,058,000 after buying an additional 89,298 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Royal Gold by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,029,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $135,730,000 after buying an additional 168,569 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Gold by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 997,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,412,000 after acquiring an additional 152,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 877,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,735,000 after acquiring an additional 49,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Trading Up 3.2 %

RGLD stock opened at $184.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.80. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.72 and a 12-month high of $191.78.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.14. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $193.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Royal Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RGLD shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.