Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,097 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140,542 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. owned 0.08% of Royalty Pharma worth $16,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,137 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Royalty Pharma in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of RPRX opened at $40.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.35 and its 200 day moving average is $37.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. Royalty Pharma PLC has a fifty-two week low of $29.66 and a fifty-two week high of $41.70.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.06. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.36% and a net margin of 32.51%.The business had revenue of $609.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.01 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other news, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 30,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $1,180,179.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total transaction of $790,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,800. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,025,675 shares of company stock valued at $40,028,396 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Profile

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.