LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stock Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,859 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 308,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,737,000 after acquiring an additional 43,339 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth $61,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 5.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,460,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,705,000 after purchasing an additional 70,130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 30,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 8,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $31.69 on Thursday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.69%.

Royalty Pharma 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.