HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,956 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,842 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $7,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 367.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,342,000 after purchasing an additional 160,191 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 13,489 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after buying an additional 13,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 39,247 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $45.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52-week low of $29.66 and a 52-week high of $46.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42 and a beta of 0.42.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 69.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 965,020 shares of company stock worth $38,670,657 over the last three months. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.