ProShare Advisors LLC Has $32.44 Million Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 259,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $32,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1,800.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 19,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 18,344 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 151.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 15,012 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,239,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 55,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 14,675 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,315,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RGLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Royal Gold from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. CIBC upped their price target on Royal Gold from $166.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Royal Gold from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $58,452.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,124.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.31, for a total transaction of $645,426.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,042,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $58,452.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,124.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,355 shares of company stock worth $1,170,315. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $143.61 on Monday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.55 and a 12-month high of $145.59. The stock has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.08 and its 200-day moving average is $128.17.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 8.74% and a net margin of 39.15%. The business had revenue of $174.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.20%.

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.