Norges Bank Takes Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,880,346 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $124,498,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.83% of Royalty Pharma as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,215,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,562,000 after acquiring an additional 417,490 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $79,888,000 after acquiring an additional 130,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

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Royalty Pharma Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of RPRX traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.11. The stock had a trading volume of 7,264,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,173,692. The firm has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.97. Royalty Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $24.05 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.60.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.