Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

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. increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth about $252,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 23.4% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 8.0% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 164,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,134,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.4% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of RPRX stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,907,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,328,049. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.27. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $38.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.58.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $750.06 million. On average, research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.87%.

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.