ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,382 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Royal Gold worth $45,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the second quarter worth $68,029,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 1,090.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 319,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,811,000 after acquiring an additional 292,611 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 833,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $148,173,000 after purchasing an additional 286,268 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,184,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 19.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,095,000 after purchasing an additional 151,492 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of RGLD opened at $279.21 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.08. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Royal Gold, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.95 and a twelve month high of $306.25.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $261.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.50.

Royal Gold Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.