113,760 Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. cut its Royalty Pharma stake by 69.3%, selling 113,760 shares in the third quarter and retaining 50,489 shares valued at approximately $2.95 million.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their holdings, while insiders sold 208,252 shares worth about $12.3 million last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of RPRX, while insiders own 18.84%.
• Analysts remain bullish, with all eight tracked analysts rating the stock a Buy and a consensus price target of $61.57. Shares recently traded at $56.57, down 2.1%, and the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 113,760 shares during the period. Royalty Pharma makes up about 1.6% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 29.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $167,696,000 after buying an additional 786,921 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,313,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $128,025,000 after acquiring an additional 31,091 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,088,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $148,168,000 after acquiring an additional 409,394 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 2,276,570 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $109,207,000 after acquiring an additional 17,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2,562.2% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,544,018 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $74,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486,020 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total transaction of $5,853,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 270,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,826,570.53. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 4,126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $235,594.60. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 208,252 shares of company stock valued at $12,324,407 over the last quarter. Insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.57.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 2.1%

RPRX stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.57. The stock had a trading volume of 3,582,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,425,440. The firm has a market cap of $32.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $64.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 32.14%. The company had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.93 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.2350 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.83%.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

Royalty Pharma plc is a biopharmaceutical royalty acquisition company that provides funding to life sciences companies in exchange for rights to future payments associated with approved or development-stage medicines. Its business model gives biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies access to capital while allowing Royalty Pharma to participate in the commercial success of therapies without directly developing or marketing them.

The company invests in royalties and other economic interests tied to a broad range of biopharmaceutical products, including treatments for cancer, rare diseases, immune disorders, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

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