Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 69.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,936,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 25,441,140 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 1.88% of Royalty Pharma worth $385,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 44.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $45.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 0.42. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $29.66 and a 12-month high of $46.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.77.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. Equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 69.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 965,020 shares of company stock valued at $38,670,657. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Profile

Royalty Pharma plc is a specialty finance company that acquires biopharmaceutical royalty interests and provides non-dilutive financing to drug developers and rights holders. The firm purchases future royalty streams, milestone-contingent payments and other revenue rights linked to approved and late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. By paying upfront consideration for these rights, Royalty Pharma seeks to generate long-term cash flows tied to the commercial performance of a diversified portfolio of medicines.

The company’s transaction structures include outright royalty purchases, structured financings and milestone arrangements tailored to the needs of innovator companies, academic institutions and investors.