Cumberland Partners Ltd Buys Shares of 35,000 Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd opened a new position in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter, buying 35,000 shares valued at about $1.35 million.
• Institutional interest in Royalty Pharma remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 54.35% of the stock. Recent filings show several firms increasing their stakes significantly.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: multiple analysts have Buy or Overweight ratings on RPRX, and the average price target is $53.71, while the shares recently traded near $54.50.

Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 367.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,342,000 after buying an additional 160,191 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 13,489 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,494,000 after buying an additional 13,951 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,559,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,184,000 after buying an additional 274,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.71.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total transaction of $1,731,895.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 169,577 shares of company stock valued at $8,234,191. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $54.50 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $32.15 and a 1-year high of $54.64. The company has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The company had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.95%.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc is a specialty finance company that acquires biopharmaceutical royalty interests and provides non-dilutive financing to drug developers and rights holders. The firm purchases future royalty streams, milestone-contingent payments and other revenue rights linked to approved and late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. By paying upfront consideration for these rights, Royalty Pharma seeks to generate long-term cash flows tied to the commercial performance of a diversified portfolio of medicines.

The company's transaction structures include outright royalty purchases, structured financings and milestone arrangements tailored to the needs of innovator companies, academic institutions and investors.

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