EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $242,000 Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma PLC, purchasing 7,785 shares valued at approximately $242,000.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their ratings on Royalty Pharma, with Wall Street Zen moving it from "hold" to "buy" and Morgan Stanley increasing its price target from $51 to $54.
• Royalty Pharma has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,785 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,985,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,162,000 after acquiring an additional 950,880 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,586,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,524,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 132.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 66,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RPRX. Wall Street Zen raised Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX stock opened at $36.50 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $38.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $36.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.58.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $578.67 million for 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be 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 is Friday, August 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.87%.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.

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