Ridgewood Investments LLC Trims Position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Key Points

• Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 36.1%, selling 11,087 shares during the first quarter; they now own 19,648 shares valued at approximately $612,000.
• A number of institutional investors have recently changed their stakes in Royalty Pharma, with Adage Capital Partners increasing their stake by 42.6% and Victory Capital Management boosting theirs by 270.4%.
• Royalty Pharma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with the ex-dividend date set on August 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.40%.

Ridgewood Investments LLC cut its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,648 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,087 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $252,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 23.4% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $275,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 8.0% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 164,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,134,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 4.4% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX stock traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $36.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,118,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,449,562. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $37.56. The business's 50-day moving average is $35.03 and its 200 day moving average is $33.23.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.71% and a net margin of 48.23%. The company had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.69 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Royalty Pharma 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.