HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its Royalty Pharma stake by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 61,166 shares and bringing its total holding to 281,122 shares valued at about $10.9 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on RPRX, with Citigroup and JPMorgan raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and average target price of $53.71.
• Royalty Pharma recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, topping estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share payable June 10, implying an annualized yield of about 1.7%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,122 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,166 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $10,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 31.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the firm'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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total value of $721,831.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,891.75. The trade was a 42.92% decrease in their position. 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 169,577 shares of company stock valued at $8,234,191 over the last quarter. 18.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RPRX. Citigroup increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $54.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.40. 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 PLC has a 12 month low of $32.15 and a 12 month high of $54.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.08.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $631.00 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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

Royalty Pharma Profile

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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