Citigroup Inc. Purchases 21,510 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 92.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,510 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $6,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at $62,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $146.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.13. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.90. Royal Gold, Inc. has a one year low of $100.55 and a one year high of $155.10.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $193.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.12 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

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

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.