World Investment Advisors Grows Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,178 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 10,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 154,922 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,986,000 after acquiring an additional 32,766 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 17,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $1,321,000. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total transaction of $726,073.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,605.86. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the sale, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 199,185 shares of company stock worth $10,082,926. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $52.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $34.08 and a 1-year high of $56.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

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.