Swedbank AB Sells 355,450 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Swedbank AB cut its Royalty Pharma stake by 3.0% in the first quarter, selling 355,450 shares and ending with 11.59 million shares valued at about $555.8 million.
• Insiders have also been selling shares, including Director Gregory Norden and CFO Terrance P. Coyne, with total insider sales over the last 90 days reaching 427,800 shares worth $23.3 million.
• Royalty Pharma reported solid earnings and a dividend: Q1 EPS beat estimates at $1.30, and the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 1.6%.

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,586,693 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 355,450 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 2.01% of Royalty Pharma worth $555,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 13,113 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 9,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 43,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 24,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In other news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the firm'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 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 90 days, insiders have sold 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723. Insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $57.84. 576,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,675,351. 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 52-week low of $34.08 and a 52-week high of $58.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $881.69 million. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

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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