Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Acquired by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its Royalty Pharma stake by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 89,253 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 546,350 shares valued at about $21.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with multiple analysts reiterating or upgrading ratings; the stock currently has a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $53.71.
• Royalty Pharma recently beat earnings expectations with EPS of $1.30, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 1.8%.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,253 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. owned 0.09% of Royalty Pharma worth $21,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RPRX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 367.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,342,000 after acquiring an additional 160,191 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 20.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 13,489 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the first quarter valued at $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 13,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,559,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,184,000 after acquiring an additional 274,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on RPRX. Weiss Ratings lowered Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $52.41 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $48.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.61. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $32.15 and a twelve month high of $53.47. The company has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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 (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The firm had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. On average, research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $1,731,895.98. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 155,893 shares of company stock worth $7,512,360. 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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