Marathon Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Marathon Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 388,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 37,846 shares during the period. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $15,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $960,064,000 after buying an additional 5,332,074 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,924,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 737.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,481,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $87,557,000 after buying an additional 2,185,366 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 379.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,235,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $78,855,000 after buying an additional 1,768,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,805,000. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total transaction of $726,073.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,605.86. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 155,893 shares of company stock valued at $7,512,360 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $52.41 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $32.15 and a 52 week high of $53.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.58 and a 200 day moving average of $43.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The business had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.