Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 98,191 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 661,416 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,191 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of Royalty Pharma worth $25,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 31.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 44.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $48.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98 and a beta of 0.39. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $29.66 and a 12-month high of $49.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. The firm had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 69.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total value of $790,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,800. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 114,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total value of $4,924,629.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 23,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,026,960.48. This represents a 82.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 497,496 shares of company stock valued at $21,224,025 over the last 90 days. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RPRX. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.