Premier Fund Managers Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd reduced its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 81.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,911 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter worth $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $162.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.67. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.00 and a 12-month high of $164.18.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.86.

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.