Mariner LLC Buys 2,234 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RGLD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,651,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,058,000 after acquiring an additional 89,298 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,009,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 181.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,846,000 after buying an additional 194,905 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 221,771 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after buying an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Gold Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $183.60 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.61 and a 12-month high of $191.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.11 and its 200-day moving average is $149.14. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

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.