Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,003 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $1,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth $18,427,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $11,998,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,049,000 after buying an additional 83,015 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at about $11,246,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 35.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 178,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,074,000 after buying an additional 46,615 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of Royal Gold 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $157.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.01 and a 1 year high of $159.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.08.

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

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

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.