First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 786,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 59,150 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.14% of Royalty Pharma worth $37,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 13,113 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 9,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 43,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 24,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.57.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $58.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $34.08 and a 52 week high of $59.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.95%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 393,009 shares of company stock valued at $21,601,827 in the last ninety days. 18.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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