Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 56,818 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 952,723 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 56,818 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Royalty Pharma worth $24,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,460,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,705,000 after acquiring an additional 70,130 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 171.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 64,057 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $735,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $2,355,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.36. 4,822,374 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,435,420. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $32.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 50.53% and a return on equity of 24.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is presently 60.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RPRX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.67.

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.