Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 86,873 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 7.5% to $38.63 million, owning approximately 1.24 million shares after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts on Wall Street have shown confidence in Royalty Pharma, with Citigroup setting a new target price of $42.00 and Morgan Stanley raising it to $54.00, resulting in an overall rating of "Buy."
• Royalty Pharma recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting a 2.4% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of approximately 50.87%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,241,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,873 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.22% of Royalty Pharma worth $38,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 270.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $112,788,000 after buying an additional 2,644,923 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2,543.7% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,081,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,234 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at $31,591,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,985,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,162,000 after purchasing an additional 950,880 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 462.1% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,090,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,950,000 after purchasing an additional 896,555 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of RPRX traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $36.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,652,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,744,514. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $24.05 and a twelve month high of $38.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.36 and a 200-day moving average of $34.29.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 44.23% and a return on equity of 25.54%. The business had revenue of $578.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.06 million. Equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RPRX. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma 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.