Eastern Bank Has $38.96 Million Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its Royalty Pharma stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 694,925 shares valued at approximately $38.96 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 54.35% of RPRX.
• Royalty Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates of $1.22, although revenue of $630.58 million fell below expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $56.57.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, equal to an annualized $0.94 dividend and a 1.6% yield; insiders have sold 393,009 shares worth roughly $21.6 million over the past 90 days.

Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 694,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,547 shares during the period. Eastern Bank owned approximately 0.12% of Royalty Pharma worth $38,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RPRX. Barton Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $905,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 172,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,662,000 after purchasing an additional 24,048 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $2,875,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $4,923,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 233,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,016,000 after buying an additional 22,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $57.17 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $56.25 and its 200 day moving average is $50.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $34.08 and a one year high of $60.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. As a group, research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the sale, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This trade 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 90 days, insiders sold 393,009 shares of company stock valued at $21,601,827. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.57.

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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