Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its Royalty Pharma stake by 61.3% in Q1, selling 100,322 shares and leaving it with 63,239 shares valued at about $3.0 million.
• Royalty Pharma reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting $1.30 EPS versus the $1.22 consensus, though revenue of $630.58 million fell short of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, and Wall Street remains generally positive with a consensus Buy rating and average target price of $56.57.

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 61.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,239 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 100,322 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $3,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $131,923,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 737.3% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,481,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $87,557,000 after buying an additional 2,185,366 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 379.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,235,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $78,855,000 after buying an additional 1,768,702 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $58.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1 year low of $34.08 and a 1 year high of $59.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50 day moving average price is $55.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.21.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The company had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $56.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $5,652,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 459,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,965,231.48. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723 in the last 90 days. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by 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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