Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,177 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $4,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 58.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $84,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,341 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $19,990,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth about $14,898,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.60.

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Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of RPRX stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.70. 7,065,345 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,849,414. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The stock has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $32.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.72.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 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%. Research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company 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 2.61%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.69%.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

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.