Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 13.4 million shares worth $417.2 million.
• Royalty Pharma reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues reaching $839 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a yield of 2.41%.

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 5.2% 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 13,402,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 732,232 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 2.32% of Royalty Pharma worth $417,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 76.4% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 956 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.6% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. 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. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ RPRX traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 737,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,475,552. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week high of $37.48. The company has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.18.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 48.23% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The business had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $724.69 million. Research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is 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.