KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $2.26 Million Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 17,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Royal Gold by 61.1% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.86.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $161.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.20 and its 200-day moving average is $144.48. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.00 and a 1-year high of $163.87. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is 35.71%.

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.