Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $5.98 Million Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,981,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,733,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,163,732,000 after buying an additional 678,732 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 18.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 905,488 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,718,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $826,618,000 after purchasing an additional 396,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,952,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $434,063,000 after purchasing an additional 78,344 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 1.6%

RGLD opened at $207.95 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a one year low of $150.75 and a one year high of $306.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.23.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 22.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royal Gold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group set a $325.00 target price on Royal Gold and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.70.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.