Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 108,947 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 81.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 108,947 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 173.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Seven research 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.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.5%

RPRX stock opened at $57.48 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $34.08 and a twelve month high of $60.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $56.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.17.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 559,399 shares in the company, valued at $30,431,305.60. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total transaction of $721,831.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,197 shares in the company, valued at $959,891.75. This trade represents a 42.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 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.

Royalty Pharma Company 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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