Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 402,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 155,091 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $102,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares during the period. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth $332,026,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,900,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,311,607,000 after acquiring an additional 905,488 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,855,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $412,543,000 after purchasing an additional 874,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 457.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 925,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,820,000 after purchasing an additional 759,810 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $229.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $204.50 and a 200 day moving average of $239.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.13 and a 1-year high of $306.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. Royal Gold had a net margin of 47.74% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $468.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.85 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 114.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.85, for a total transaction of $107,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,424.70. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.10.

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.