Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC to $10.39 million by trimming its ownership by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, holding 333,890 shares.
• Analysts recently upgraded Royalty Pharma's ratings, with Morgan Stanley increasing their target price from $51 to $54 and Citigroup from $40 to $42, marking them as a "buy" opportunity.
• Royalty Pharma has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

Citigroup Inc. cut its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 333,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 23,145 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Royalty Pharma worth $10,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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 grew 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. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth about $77,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RPRX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.9%

Royalty Pharma stock traded down $0.3390 during trading on Thursday, reaching $36.5410. The company had a trading volume of 188,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,326,550. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $38.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

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