Aberdeen Group plc Grows Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC by 138.5% in Q1, owning 213,860 shares valued at approximately $6.59 million.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Royalty Pharma's stock ratings, with targets ranging from $42.00 to $54.00, and a consensus rating of "Buy."
• Royalty Pharma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, with an upcoming payment date on September 10th.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 138.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,860 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 124,193 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $6,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $252,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $275,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 164,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,134,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.32. 2,671,527 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,004,799. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $38.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $36.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.90.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 25.54% and a net margin of 44.23%.The business had revenue of $578.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.06 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is presently 50.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.