Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 19.7%, purchasing an additional 200,122 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,214,921 shares worth approximately $43.77 million.
• Royalty Pharma's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with Citigroup raising its price target to $42.00 and Morgan Stanley to $54.00, yet one analyst downgraded it from "buy" to "hold."
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding 2.4% annually, and reported $578.67 million in revenue for the most recent quarter.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,214,921 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 200,122 shares during the quarter. Royalty Pharma makes up approximately 0.8% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.22% of Royalty Pharma worth $43,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 270.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $112,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644,923 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 8.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,847,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $88,656,000 after buying an additional 226,048 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $80,381,000 after buying an additional 704,414 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,284,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $39,984,000 after buying an additional 326,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 7.5% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,241,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,634,000 after buying an additional 86,873 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.03. 2,326,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,498. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.34 and a 200-day moving average of $34.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.58. 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.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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

Royalty Pharma Company 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.