119,761 Shares in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired 119,761 shares of Royalty Pharma PLC, valued at approximately $3.7 million, indicating increased institutional interest in the company.
• Royalty Pharma's stock has received upward revisions in price targets from major analysts, with Citigroup increasing its target from $40 to $42 and Morgan Stanley adjusting it from $51 to $54.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, with a 2.4% dividend yield, demonstrating ongoing shareholder returns while maintaining a 50.87% payout ratio.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 119,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,728,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter worth about $252,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter worth about $275,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 164,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,134,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ RPRX traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.31. 2,529,890 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,342,099. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $38.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $36.12 and its 200-day moving average is $33.83.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $578.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.06 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 44.23% and a return on equity of 25.54%. Equities analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is 50.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

About Royalty Pharma

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.