Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 69.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $385,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the third 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. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.3% during the 3rd 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, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RPRX has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. 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. UBS Group upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $45.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 0.42. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $29.66 and a twelve month high of $46.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.235 dividend. 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 presently 69.63%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.77, for a total value of $4,374,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,374,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 114,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $4,924,629.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 23,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,026,960.48. The trade was a 82.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 965,020 shares of company stock valued at $38,670,657. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

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.