D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 228,964 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,161,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 228,964 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Royalty Pharma worth $29,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $432,862,000 after buying an additional 5,069,127 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,498,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,959,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 187.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $48,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,384 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RPRX shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 1.6%

RPRX traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,575,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,328,168. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week 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.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $724.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. On average, equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.