Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Royalty Pharma by 13.4%, selling 20,498 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 132,990 shares valued at $4.14 million.
• Royalty Pharma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 2.4% yield, with the dividend payout ratio at 50.87%.
• Despite missing revenue expectations for the last quarter, Royalty Pharma reported $1.14 EPS, outperforming analyst estimates, while facing target price upgrades from brokers including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 20,498 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $4,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $252,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 8.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RPRX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on 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 lifted their price target on 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 assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.2%

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $38.00. The company has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.81.

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

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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

Royalty Pharma 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.

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