Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Holdings Raised by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 271.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,258 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.09% of Royal Gold worth $8,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RGLD. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $18,427,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $11,998,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 187.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,049,000 after purchasing an additional 83,015 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,246,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 178,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,074,000 after acquiring an additional 46,615 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

RGLD opened at $157.01 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.01 and a fifty-two week high of $158.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.33 and a 200-day moving average of $143.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

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.