Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 146.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 563,225 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 334,479 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $19,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 389.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.2%

RPRX opened at $45.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $29.66 and a one year high of $46.14. The company has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.45.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. This represents a 46.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,034,602 shares of company stock valued at $41,353,043. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.