Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Prudential PLC cut its Royalty Pharma stake by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 171,153 shares and ending with 10,575 shares valued at about $409,000.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with CFO Terrance P. Coyne and EVP Marshall Urist both selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans; insiders sold 199,185 shares worth roughly $10.1 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain constructive on RPRX, with seven Buy ratings, a consensus Buy rating, and an average target price of $53.71, while the stock recently traded near $54.86 after posting quarterly EPS above expectations.

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 94.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 171,153 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 value of $3,476,258.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 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 approximately $959,891.75. This represents a 42.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 199,185 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,926. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $54.86 on Tuesday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $33.37 and a 52 week high of $56.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current 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 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. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The business had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $881.69 million. On average, analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.95%.

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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