Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $5.52 Million Investment in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 21,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,524,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 0.6% during the first quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $195.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.99 and a 1 year high of $306.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $206.14 and its 200 day moving average is $241.87.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.74, for a total transaction of $243,740.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,646.68. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Royal Gold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $325.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.27.

About Royal Gold

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.