Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Purchased by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, adding nearly 3.9 million shares and bringing its total holdings to about 31.1 million shares, or 5.39% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment on RPRX remains positive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy ratings and analysts lifting price targets as high as $66. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.71.
• Royalty Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, topping estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share payable June 10, equating to a 1.7% annualized yield.

Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,891,615 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 5.39% of Royalty Pharma worth $1,201,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 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 purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 31.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on RPRX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $959,891.75. This represents a 42.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 199,185 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,926. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX stock opened at $55.87 on Friday. 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 PLC has a one year low of $33.37 and a one year high of $56.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.01.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. On average, analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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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