Citigroup Inc. Trims Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 132,843 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $8,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 367.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,342,000 after buying an additional 160,191 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 20.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 13,489 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 13,951 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 33,139 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $46.21 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.79 and its 200 day moving average is $38.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1 year low of $29.66 and a 1 year high of $46.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%. On average, research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 69.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,691.65. This represents a 46.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 853,863 shares of company stock valued at $34,236,880 over the last quarter. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RPRX. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

About Royalty Pharma

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.