USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 42,500 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC by 26.2%, now holding 119,649 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Royalty Pharma's stock received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices raised by Morgan Stanley to $54.00 and Citigroup to $42.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting a 2.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 50.87%.

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,649 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 42,500 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $3,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,985,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,162,000 after purchasing an additional 950,880 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $1,586,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $1,524,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,189,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $81,376,000 after purchasing an additional 847,704 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 132.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 11,597 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RPRX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Royalty Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.9%

RPRX stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,652,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,338,490. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $38.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.36 and a 200 day moving average of $34.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is 50.87%.

About Royalty Pharma

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.