Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,003 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RGLD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 108.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Royal Gold during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter worth $62,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.43, for a total transaction of $120,481.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,648.06. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total value of $291,747.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.4 %

RGLD opened at $145.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.90. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.55 and a 12-month high of $155.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.87.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.13. Royal Gold had a net margin of 42.93% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $193.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.43.

Royal Gold Company 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.