J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases Shares of 90,035 Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 90,035 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,479,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 635,122 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,541,000 after buying an additional 263,867 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 111,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after acquiring an additional 6,544 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 438.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 288,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,136,000 after acquiring an additional 234,629 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 701.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 189,046 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,685,000 after acquiring an additional 165,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 812,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,604,000 after acquiring an additional 36,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RPRX. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $1,584,034.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 43,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,129.58. This represents a 44.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 532,287 shares of company stock worth $22,215,917. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $47.97 on Wednesday. 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 has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $29.66 and a 1-year high of $47.98.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 69.63%.

About Royalty Pharma

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.