GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires Shares of 9,329 Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,329 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 308,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,737,000 after buying an additional 43,339 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $486,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RPRX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.63. 2,935,310 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,473,066. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.28. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $34.32. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 37.94% and a return on equity of 24.40%. On average, research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Royalty Pharma 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.