Van ECK Associates Corp Has $553.81 Million Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 1.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,637,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,394 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Royal Gold worth $553,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Royal Gold by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 2.5% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 15.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,203,845.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,203,845.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $58,452.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,124.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,355 shares of company stock valued at $1,170,315. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $145.45 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.55 and a fifty-two week high of $155.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. Royal Gold had a net margin of 39.15% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The company had revenue of $174.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Royal Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 43.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RGLD. StockNews.com raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Royal Gold from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.50.

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.