Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Royalty Pharma position by 2.9%, selling 22,477 shares and retaining 759,042 shares worth approximately $36.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 54.35% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with seven Buy ratings and an average price target of $56.57; UBS, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan recently raised their targets.
• Royalty Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, exceeding estimates of $1.22, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 759,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 22,477 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Royalty Pharma worth $36,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after buying an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,201,870,000 after buying an additional 3,891,615 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $411,502,000 after acquiring an additional 376,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 102,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,106,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $197,331,000 after acquiring an additional 449,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of Royalty Pharma 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 sale, the director directly owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 64,399 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $3,476,258.02. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 393,009 shares of company stock valued at $21,601,827 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.57.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $58.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.86. 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 52 week low of $34.08 and a 52 week high of $60.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. Equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.95%.

Royalty Pharma 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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